a sudden strong wish to do something: impulse to I had this sudden impulse to shout out "Nonsense!" in the middle of her speech.

1. a : a sudden spontaneous inclination or incitement to some usually unpremeditated action b : a propensity or natural tendency usually other than rational.

An impulse is a sudden force or desire — this could be an electrical impulse, or an impulse to get some pizza.

a sudden strong wish or need to do something, without stopping to think about the results. Extra Examples Acting on impulse, he picked up the keys and slipped ...

a sudden feeling that you must do something, without thinking about the results: [ usually singular ] Her first impulse was to run away.

8 meanings: 1. an impelling force or motion; thrust; impetus 2. a sudden desire, whim, or inclination 3. an instinctive drive;.

noun · an impelling force or motion; thrust; impetus · a sudden desire, whim, or inclination · an instinctive drive; urge · tendency; current; trend · physics.

What does the verb impulse mean? There is one meaning in OED's entry for the verb impulse. See 'Meaning & use' for definition, usage, and quotation evidence.

a sudden strong wish or need to do something, without stopping to think about the results. He had a sudden impulse to stand up and sing.

1. [countable, uncountable]WANT a sudden strong desire to do something without thinking about whether it is a sensible thing to do SYN urge