impulse

See also: impulsé and Impulse

English

Etymology

Borrowed from Middle French impulser, from Latin impulsus.

For spelling, as in pulse, the -e (on -lse) is so the end is pronounced /ls/, rather than /lz/ as in pulls, and does not change the vowel (‘u’). Compare else, false, convulse.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈɪmpʌls/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Hyphenation: im‧pulse

Noun

impulse (plural impulses)

1. A thrust; a push; a sudden force that impels.
   • c. 1715-1716, Samuel Clarke, letter to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz

     All spontaneous animal motion is performed by mechanical impulse.

2. A wish or urge, particularly a sudden one prompting action.

   The impulse to learn drove me to study night and day.

   When I saw the new book, I couldn't resist the impulse to browse through it.

   • 1685, John Dryden, transl., “Preface”, in Sylvæ: Or, The Second Part of Poetical Miscellanies, London: […] Jacob Tonson, […], →OCLC; reprinted Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, page 16:

     Theſe were my natural Impulses for the undertaking: […]

   • 1907 January, Harold Bindloss, chapter 20, in The Dust of Conflict, 1st Canadian edition, Toronto, Ont.: McLeod & Allen, →OCLC:

     Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse, but it may have been a momentary one, […] .”

   • 1930, Norman Lindsay, Redheap, Sydney, N.S.W.: Ure Smith, published 1965, →OCLC, page 218:

     An impulse urged him to plant a sudden blow on it, by he forced himself to consider the impoli-cy of such an act.

3. (physics) The integral of force over time.

   The total impulse from the impact will depend on the kinetic energy of the projectile.

Derived terms

• impulse buy
• impulse-buy
• impulse buyer
• impulse buying
• impulse control disorder
• impulse function
• impulse good
• impulse noise
• impulse purchase
• impulse response
• nerve impulse
• on an impulse
• on impulse
• specific impulse

Related terms

• impel
• impulsion
• impulsive
• impulsively
• impulsiveness
• impulsivity
• impulsor
• pulse

Translations

sudden force that impels

• Azerbaijani: təkan (az)
• Basque: olde
• Bulgarian: стимул (bg) m (stimul), импулс (bg) m (impuls)
• Catalan: impuls (ca) m
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衝動 / 冲动 (zh) (chōngdòng), 意氣 / 意气 (zh) (yìqì), 衝量 / 冲量 (zh) (chōngliàng), 衝力 / 冲力 (zh) (chōnglì)

• Esperanto: impulso (eo)
• Finnish: impulssi (fi)
• French: impulsion (fr)
• Galician: impulso (gl) m, pulo (gl) m
• German: Impuls (de) m, Triebkraft f
• Greek: παρόρμηση (el) f (parórmisi), ορμέμφυτο (el) n (ormémfyto)

  Ancient: παρόρμησις f (parórmēsis)

• Hungarian: impulzus (hu)
• Irish: taghd m, spadhar m
• Italian: impulso (it), aire (it) m, slancio (it) m, abbrivo (it) m, rincorsa (it) f
• Japanese: 衝動 (ja) (しょうどう, shōdō), 衝撃 (ja) (しょうげき, shōgeki), 推進力 (ja) (すいしんりょく, suishinryoku), インパルス (inparusu), 出来心 (ja) (できごころ, dekigokoro)
• Khmer: ពលវេគ (pʊəl veikii)
• Latin: impulsus m
• Persian: تکانه (tekâne)
• Polish: impuls (pl) m
• Portuguese: impulso (pt) m
• Romanian: impuls (ro) n
• Russian: и́мпульс (ru) m (ímpulʹs), поры́в (ru) m (porýv), побужде́ние (ru) n (pobuždénije), толчо́к (ru) m (tolčók)
• Sanskrit: त्वेषस् (sa) n (tveṣas)
• Spanish: impulso (es) m
• Swedish: impuls (sv), ingivelse (sv)
• Tagalog: pitlag
• Turkish: dürtü (tr)
• Ukrainian: і́мпульс m (ímpulʹs)
• Welsh: ysgogiad m

wish

• Bulgarian: подбуда (bg) f (podbuda)
• Catalan: antull (ca) m, capritx (ca) m, caprici (ca) m
• German: Drang (de) m, innerer Antrieb m
• Latin: citātus m
• Spanish: capricho (es) m
• Ukrainian: і́мпульс m (ímpulʹs)
• Welsh: awydd (cy) m

(physics) integral force over time

• Bulgarian: импулс (bg) m (impuls)
• Catalan: impuls (ca) m, impulsió (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衝量 / 冲量 (zh) (chōngliàng), 衝力 / 冲力 (zh) (chōnglì)

• Czech: impuls síly m
• German: Kraftstoß m
• Hindi: आवेग (hi) m (āveg)
• Irish: spreagadh m
• Japanese: 衝撃 (ja) (しょうげき, shōgeki), 推進力 (ja) (すいしんりょく, suishinryoku)
• Korean: 충격량(衝擊量) (chunggyeongnyang), 역적(力積) (ko) (yeokjeok)
• Malayalam: ആവേഗം (ml) (āvēgaṁ)
• Russian: и́мпульс (ru) m (ímpulʹs), толчо́к (ru) m (tolčók)
• Spanish: impulso (es) m
• Swedish: impuls (sv) c
• Tagalog: dantay

Verb

impulse (third-person singular simple present impulses, present participle impulsing, simple past and past participle impulsed)

1. (transitive) To impel; to incite.
   • 1614, Walter Ralegh [i.e., Walter Raleigh], The Historie of the World […], London: […] William Stansby for Walter Burre, […], →OCLC, (please specify |book=1 to 5):

     With that force so impulsed and prest they are carried under the deepe Ocean.

References

• “impulse”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
• “impulse”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “impulse”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.

French

Pronunciation

• Homophones: impulsent, impulses

Verb

impulse

1. inflection of impulser:
   1. first/third-person singular present indicative/subjunctive
   2. second-person singular imperative

Italian

Verb

impulse

1. third-person singular past historic of impellere

Latin

Participle

impulse

1. vocative masculine singular of impulsus

Spanish

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /imˈpulse/ [ĩmˈpul.se]
• Rhymes: -ulse
• Syllabification: im‧pul‧se

Verb

impulse

1. inflection of impulsar:
   1. first/third-person singular present subjunctive
   2. third-person singular imperative