impulsively

C2+ Topic:Mind & Cognition

US /ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/ UK /ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli/ See IPA manual

adv

Meanings

1

adv
in a way driven by sudden impulse rather than thought

She impulsively bought the tickets without checking the dates.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 adv · in a way driven by sudden... rashly spontaneously hastily recklessly instinctively precipitately

Opposites

deliberately cautiously thoughtfully

Word family

Related forms impulsive impulse impulsion

Etymology

From impulsive (from Medieval Latin impulsivus, from Latin impulsus, past participle of impellere 'to drive on', from in- + pellere 'to push') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

impellere Latin pellere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Mind & Cognition Word Formation & Derivatives

# impulsively

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** adv
**IPA (US):** ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli
**IPA (UK):** ɪmˈpʌlsɪvli

## Meanings
1. in a way driven by sudden impulse rather than thought

## Examples
- She impulsively bought the tickets without checking the dates.

## Synonyms
- rashly
- spontaneously
- hastily
- recklessly
- instinctively
- precipitately

## Antonyms
- deliberately
- cautiously
- thoughtfully

## Related Forms
- impulsive
- impulse
- impulsion

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: impellere
- Root: pellere

## Etymology
From impulsive (from Medieval Latin impulsivus, from Latin impulsus, past participle of impellere 'to drive on', from in- + pellere 'to push') + the adverbial suffix -ly.

## AI Etymology
impulsively comes from impulsive (from Medieval Latin impulsivus, from Latin impulsus, past participle of impellere 'to drive on', from in- + pellere 'to push') + the adverbial suffix -ly. Morphologically, the ending is part of the etymology: the suffix is attached to the older base named in the history, producing a later English derivative. In present English, the adverb sense is "in a way driven by sudden impulse rather than thought", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as impulsive, impulse, and impulsion. Its semantic neighborhood includes rashly, spontaneously, hastily, and recklessly, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin impellere and Latin pellere.

## Topics
- Mind & Cognition
- Word Formation & Derivatives

markdown

impulsively

Meanings

Thesaurus

Etymology

Topics

Keyboard Shortcuts

General

Send feedback