Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • adjective Inclined to act on impulse rather than thought.
  • adjective Motivated by or resulting from impulse.
  • adjective Having force or power to impel or incite; forceful.
  • adjective Physics Acting within brief time intervals. Used especially of a force.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • Having the power of driving or impelling; moving; impellent.
  • Actuated or controlled by impulses; swayed by the emotions: as, an impulsive child.
  • Resulting from impulse: as, impulsive movements or gestures.
  • In mech., acting by instantaneous impulse, not continuously: said of forces. See force, 8 .
  • noun That which impels; impelling cause or reason.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun That which impels or gives an impulse; an impelling agent.
  • adjective Having the power of driving or impelling; giving an impulse; moving; impellent.
  • adjective Actuated by impulse or by transient feelings.
  • adjective (Mech.) Acting momentarily, or by impulse; not continuous; -- said of forces.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • adjective Having the power of driving or impelling; giving an impulse; moving; impellent.
  • adjective Actuated by impulse or by transient feelings.
  • adjective mechanics Acting momentarily, or by impulse; not continuous – said of forces.
  • adjective Highly reactive; people who react quickly or feel emotional
  • noun That which impels or gives an impulse; an impelling agent.
  • noun One whose behaviour or personality is characterized by being impulsive.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • adjective having the power of driving or impelling
  • adjective characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or deliberation
  • adjective proceeding from natural feeling or impulse without external stimulus
  • adjective determined by chance or impulse or whim rather than by necessity or reason
  • adjective without forethought

Etymologies

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