impetus

C2+ Topic:General Vocabulary

US /ˈɪmpətəs/ UK /ˈɪmpɪtəs/ See IPA manual

Meanings

1

noun
a driving force or stimulus that makes something happen

The scandal gave fresh impetus to the reform movement.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · a driving force or stimulus... stimulus impulse momentum drive incentive force spur

Opposites

deterrent obstacle hindrance

Word family

Derived forms impetuous

Related forms impetuous petition compete appetite

Simplified etymology

Impetus entered English in the mid-17th century and ultimately derives from Latin petere, “aim at” or “seek,” through a formation meaning “seek towards” or “assail.”

Etymology

From Latin impetus ('attack, assault, impulse'), from impetere ('to attack'), from in- ('toward') + petere ('to seek, rush at').

impetus Latin petere Latin *peth₂- Proto-Indo-European

View etymology graph ->

Topics

General Vocabulary

External links

# impetus

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /ˈɪmpətəs/
**IPA (UK):** /ˈɪmpɪtəs/

## Meanings
1. a driving force or stimulus that makes something happen

## Examples
- The scandal gave fresh impetus to the reform movement.

## Synonyms
- stimulus
- impulse
- momentum
- drive
- incentive
- force
- spur

## Antonyms
- deterrent
- obstacle
- hindrance

## Derived Forms
- impetuous

## Related Forms
- impetuous
- petition
- compete
- appetite

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: impetus
- Root: petere
- Root: *peth₂-

## Etymology
From Latin impetus ('attack, assault, impulse'), from impetere ('to attack'), from in- ('toward') + petere ('to seek, rush at').

## AI Etymology
impetus comes from Latin impetus ('attack, assault, impulse'), from impetere ('to attack'), from in- ('toward') + petere ('to seek, rush at'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "a driving force or stimulus that makes something happen", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as impetuous, petition, compete, and appetite, and in derivatives such as impetuous. Its semantic neighborhood includes stimulus, impulse, momentum, and drive, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin impetus, Latin petere, and Proto-Indo-European *peth₂-.

## Topics
- General Vocabulary

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