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

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?

Words popularity by usage frequency

How to use impulse in a sentence?

1. Former President Barack Obama:

   What we're fighting against is these long-term trends in which being selfish, being tribal, being divided, and seeing others as an enemy — that has become a stronger impulse in American life.

2. William James:

   The community stagnates without the impulse of the individual. The impulse dies away without the sympathy of the community.

3. Abubakr Ali:

   I have people asking me if I am considering changing my name, and I'm like,' no,' i never had the impulse to change it. It just felt dishonest to me. My parents didn't work and sacrifice so much to bring all of us here for me to deny the most important thing they gave to me, my name.

4. 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.

5. James Russell Lowell:

   Where one person shapes their life by precept and example, there are a thousand who have shaped it by impulse and circumstances.