'Impulse' definitions:
Definition of 'impulse'
(from WordNet)
noun
An instinctive motive; "profound religious impulses" [syn: urge, impulse]
noun
noun
The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus" [syn: nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse, impulse]
noun
(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients); "the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star" [syn: pulsation, pulsing, pulse, impulse]
noun
The act of applying force suddenly; "the impulse knocked him over" [syn: impulse, impulsion, impetus]
noun
An impelling force or strength; "the car's momentum carried it off the road" [syn: momentum, impulse]
Definition of 'Impulse'
From: GCIDE
- Impulse \Im*pulse"\, v. t. [See Impel.] To impel; to incite. [Obs.] --Pope. [1913 Webster]
Definition of 'Impulse'
From: GCIDE
- Impulse \Im"pulse\, n. [L. impulsus, fr. impellere. See Impel.] [1913 Webster]
- 1. The act of impelling, or driving onward with sudden force; impulsion; especially, force so communicated as to produced motion suddenly, or immediately. [1913 Webster]
- All spontaneous animal motion is performed by mechanical impulse. --S. Clarke. [1913 Webster]
- 2. The effect of an impelling force; motion produced by a sudden or momentary force. [1913 Webster]
- 3. (Mech.) The action of a force during a very small interval of time; the effect of such action; as, the impulse of a sudden blow upon a hard elastic body. [1913 Webster]
- 4. A mental force which simply and directly urges to action; hasty inclination; sudden motive; momentary or transient influence of appetite or passion; propension; incitement; as, a man of good impulses; passion often gives a violent impulse to the will; to buy something on impulse. [1913 Webster +PJC]
- These were my natural impulses for the undertaking. --Dryden.
- Syn: Force; incentive; influence; motive; feeling; incitement; instigation. [1913 Webster]
Synonyms of 'impulse'
From: Moby Thesaurus
- actuation,
- archetypal pattern,
- archetype,
- atomic power,
- automatic writing,
- automatism,
- blind impulse,
- catalyst,
- collective unconscious,
- compulsion,
- compulsiveness,
- conditioning,
- constraint,
- drive,
- echolalia,
- echopraxia,
- electric power,
- electropower,
- excitant,
- exigency,
- forwardness,
- goad,
- haste,
- hastiness,
- horsepower,
- hydraulic power,
- hydroelectric power,
- id,
- impetus,
- impulsion,
- impulsiveness,
- inborn proclivity,
- incentive,
- incitation,
- incitement,
- instinct,
- instinctiveness,
- involuntariness,
- jet power,
- libido,
- lust,
- manpower,
- motivation,
- natural instinct,
- natural tendency,
- nuclear power,
- overhastiness,
- passion,
- pinch,
- piston power,
- precipitation,
- precociousness,
- precocity,
- prematureness,
- prematurity,
- press,
- pressure,
- primitive self,
- propulsion,
- push,
- rash impulse,
- reflex action,
- rocket power,
- rush,
- sheer chemistry,
- solar power,
- spur,
- steam power,
- stimulant,
- stress,
- subconscious urge,
- thermonuclear power,
- thrust,
- unlearned capacity,
- unreasoning impulse,
- untimeliness,
- unwilledness,
- urge,
- urgency,
- vital impulse,
- water power