impulse B2 Topic:Describing Qualities US /ˈɪmpʌls/ See IPA manual Freq #8166 Meanings 1 noun A sudden strong wish to do something without thinking first. They bought the puppy on an impulse. 2 noun A short burst of energy or force. The impulse from the engine pushed the rocket upward. 3 noun An electrical signal that travels along a nerve. Nerve impulses carry messages to the brain. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · a sudden strong wish to do... whimcapriceurge 2 noun · a short burst of energy or... impetusimpulsion 3 noun · an electrical signal that... nerve impulseneural impulse Word family Forms impulses Derived forms counterimpulseimpulse-buyimpulseless Related forms impelimpulsionimpulsiveimpulsivelyimpulsivenessimpulsivityimpulsorpulse Common collocations irresistible impulse Adjective + noun Etymology AI details Borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus. *pel- (beat) Proto-Indo-European impulser Middle French impulsus Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Describing Qualities External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # impulse **Type:** Word **Level:** B2 **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /ˈɪmpʌls/ **Frequency rank:** 8166 ## Meanings 1. A sudden strong wish to do something without thinking first. 2. A short burst of energy or force. 3. An electrical signal that travels along a nerve. ## Examples - They bought the puppy on an impulse. - The impulse from the engine pushed the rocket upward. - Nerve impulses carry messages to the brain. ## Derived Forms - counterimpulse - impulse-buy - impulseless ## Related Forms - impel - impulsion - impulsive - impulsively - impulsiveness - impulsivity - impulsor - pulse ## Roots and Affixes - Root: *pel- (beat) - Root: impulser - Root: impulsus ## Etymology Borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus. ## AI Etymology Impulse is borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus. The historical line also includes *pel- (beat) (Proto-Indo-European). In current use, the main senses are “A sudden strong wish to do something without thinking first” and “A short burst of energy or force”. ## Topics - Describing Qualities markdown