Synonyms for impulse
ˈɪm pʌlsim·pulse

English Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:4.0 / 3 votes

1. impulse

   Appetite is used only of the demands of the physical system, unless otherwise expressly stated, as when we say an appetite for knowledge; passion includes all excitable impulses of our nature, as anger, fear, love, hatred, etc. Appetite is thus more animal than passion; and when we speak of passions and appetites as conjoined or contrasted, we think of the appetites as wholly physical and of the passions as, in part at least, mental or spiritual. We say an appetite for food, a passion for fame. Compare DESIRE.

   Compare ANTIPATHY.

   Synonyms:
   appetency, appetite, craving, desire, disposition, inclination, liking, longing, lust, passion, proclivity, proneness, propensity, relish, thirst, zest

   Antonyms:
   antipathy, aversion, detestation, disgust, dislike, disrelish, distaste, hatred, indifference, loathing, repugnance, repulsion

   Preposition:
   He had an insatiable appetite for the marvellous.

Complete Dictionary of Synonyms and AntonymsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulse

   Synonyms:
   incentive, push, incitement, force, influence, instigation, feeling, sudden thought, motive

   Antonyms:
   rebuff, repulse, premeditation, deliberation

GCIDERate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Impulsenoun

   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.

   Synonyms:
   Force, incentive, influence, motive, feeling, incitement, instigation.

Princeton's WordNetRate these synonyms:1.0 / 2 votes

1. urge, impulsenoun

   an instinctive motive

   "profound religious impulses"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation, itch

2. caprice, impulse, whimnoun

   a sudden desire

   "he bought it on an impulse"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, notion, neural impulse, whimsey, pulsation, whimsy

3. nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse, impulsenoun

   the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber

   "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, momentum, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, whim, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation, urge

4. pulsation, pulsing, pulse, impulsenoun

   (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"

   Synonyms:
   impulsion, pulse, beat, caprice, whim, momentum, nervous impulse, neural impulse, pulsation, heart rate, pulsing, heartbeat, nerve impulse, impetus, pulse rate, urge

5. impulse, impulsion, impetusnoun

   the act of applying force suddenly

   "the impulse knocked him over"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, drift, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation

6. momentum, impulsenoun

   an impelling force or strength

   "the car's momentum carried it off the road"

   Synonyms:
   pulsing, whim, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, impetus, momentum, urge, impulsion, caprice, pulse, neural impulse, pulsation

Matched Categories

1. • Desire
   • Drive
   • Electrical Discharge
   • Electronics
   • Force
   • Motive
   • Wave

Dictionary of English SynonymesRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   thrust, push, impelling force

2. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   passion, instinct, sudden thought

3. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   incitement, instigation, motive, influence

Synonyms, Antonyms & Associated WordsRate these synonyms:0.0 / 0 votes

1. impulsenoun

   Synonyms:
   motive, incentive, impulsion, impetus

PPDB, the paraphrase databaseRate these paraphrases:0.0 / 0 votes

1. List of paraphrases for "impulse":

   impetus, momentum, pulse, boost, whim, stimulus, incentive

How to pronounce impulse?

How to say impulse in sign language?

Usage in printed sourcesFrom: 

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Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use impulse in a sentence?

1. Friedrich Nietzsche, Also Sprach Zarathustra, Chapter 29:

   But thus do I counsel you, my friends: distrust all in whom the impulse to punish is powerful!

2. Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush:

   The first impulse of Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is to have gun control, but the first impulse in my mind is let's have a strategy to take out ISIS there so we don't have to deal with it here.

3. Tamara Rubin:

   He has a lot of trouble with impulse control, he wants to play advanced games with his peers, but it's not easy for him.

4. Andrew Zimbalist:

   There is likely to be a small positive impulse from it in terms of soccer's popularity but it's not going to be a sea change.

5. Duke Ellington:

   I don't pursue anything. The only thing I always answer is my own impulse.