IMPETUS

Pronunciation (US):

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IPA (US):

 Dictionary entry overview: What does impetus mean? 

• IMPETUS (noun)
  The noun IMPETUS has 2 senses:

1. a force that moves something along

2. the act of applying force suddenly

  Familiarity information: IMPETUS used as a noun is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• IMPETUS (noun)

Sense 1

Meaning:

A force that moves something along

Classified under:

Nouns denoting natural phenomena

Synonyms:

drift; impetus; impulsion

Hypernyms ("impetus" is a kind of...):

force ((physics) the influence that produces a change in a physical quantity)

Sense 2

Meaning:

The act of applying force suddenly

Classified under:

Nouns denoting acts or actions

Synonyms:

impetus; impulse; impulsion

Context example:

the impulse knocked him over

Hypernyms ("impetus" is a kind of...):

drive; driving force; thrust (the act of applying force to propel something)

 Context examples 

Scientists have long wondered about the evolutionary impetus behind zebras' coat patterns.

(Zebra stripes may 'dazzle' pathogen-packing horse flies, Wikinews)

Your ruler Pluto will give you the impetus to conduct thorough research.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

What of my impetus and the stunning surprise, I clattered three or four steps along the deck before I could stop myself.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

I felt veneration for St. John—veneration so strong that its impetus thrust me at once to the point I had so long shunned.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)

These discoveries from the East African Rift System, the scientists say, provide a glimpse into the ancient ecosystems of Africa, and provide the impetus for future work elsewhere on the continent.

(New dinosaur with heart-shaped tail offers clues to evolution of Africa's ecosystems, National Science Foundation)

This was to gain impetus for the descent.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

As the impetus that carried Cherokee forward died down, he continued to go forward of his own volition, in a swift, bow-legged run.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

Two simultaneous exchanges with the left made a clap like a pistol-shot, and then as Harrison rushed in for a fall, Wilson slipped him, and over went my old friend upon his face, partly from the impetus of his own futile attack, and partly from a swinging half-arm blow which the west-countryman brought home upon his ear as he passed.

(Rodney Stone, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle)

All I would say is, that I can go abroad without your family coming forward to favour me,—in short, with a parting Shove of their cold shoulders; and that, upon the whole, I would rather leave England with such impetus as I possess, than derive any acceleration of it from that quarter.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I saw that in another moment, and with one impetus of frenzy more, I should be able to do nothing with him.

(Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Brontë)