PROPEL (propelled, propelling)

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

IPA (US):

Irregular inflected forms: propelled    , propelling   

 Dictionary entry overview: What does propel mean? 

• PROPEL (verb)
  The verb PROPEL has 2 senses:

1. cause to move forward with force

2. give an incentive for action

  Familiarity information: PROPEL used as a verb is rare.

 Dictionary entry details 

• PROPEL (verb)

Present simple: I / you / we / they propel    ... he / she / it propels   
Past simple: propelled   
Past participle: propelled   
-ing form: propelling   

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to move forward with force

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Synonyms:

impel; propel

Context example:

Steam propels this ship

Hypernyms (to "propel" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "propel"):

flip (move with a flick or light motion)

rocket (propel with a rocket)

carry (propel or give impetus to)

kick (drive or propel with the foot)

pole; punt (propel with a pole)

hit (cause to move by striking)

throw (propel through the air)

drive (push, propel, or press with force)

launch (propel with force)

catapult (shoot forth or launch, as if from a catapult)

project; send off (throw, send, or cast forward)

loft (propel through the air)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

propellant (any substance that propels)

propellant (tending to or capable of propelling)

propellent (any substance that propels)

propellent (tending to or capable of propelling)

propeller; propellor (a mechanical device that rotates to push against air or water)

propulsion (the act of propelling)

propulsive (tending to or capable of propelling)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Give an incentive for action

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Synonyms:

actuate; incite; motivate; move; prompt; propel

Context example:

This moved me to sacrifice my career

Hypernyms (to "propel" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Verb group:

affect; impress; move; strike (have an emotional or cognitive impact upon)

move (arouse sympathy or compassion in)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody
Something ----s somebody
Something ----s something
Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They propel him to write the letter

Derivation:

propulsion (the act of propelling)

 Context examples 

A hollow muscular organ which receives the blood from the veins and propels it into the arteries.

(Heart, NCI Thesaurus/CDISC)

A new moon has a very long tail—it will propel you into the year with very favorable aspects.

(AstrologyZone.com, by Susan Miller)

An instrument that uses electric fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and energies.

(Particle Accelerator, NCI Thesaurus)

The rippling motion of muscles in the intestine or other tubular organs characterized by the alternate contraction and relaxation of the muscles that propel the contents onward.

(Peristalsis, NCI Dictionary)

Strong magnetic fields propel some of this material to high speeds along the jet.

(NuSTAR Probes Black Hole Jet Mystery, NASA)

When a volcano begins erupting beneath a sheet of ice on Earth, the rapidly generated steam typically leads to explosions that punch through the ice and propel ash high into the sky.

(Clues about Volcanoes Under Ice on Ancient Mars, NASA)

The Count in his box, then, was on a river in an open boat—propelled probably either by oars or poles, for the banks are near and it is working against stream.

(Dracula, by Bram Stoker)

Franky Zapata also invented the original Flyboard, which is propelled by jets of water drawn up by a hose, unlike the Flyboard Air, which uses jets of air.

(French inventor Franky Zapata successfully crosses English Channel on jet-powered hoverboard, Wikinews)

Thornton came to, belly downward and being violently propelled back and forth across a drift log by Hans and Pete.

(The Call of the Wild, by Jack London)

For answers, Brandon turned to salps, gelatinous filter-feeding invertebrates that suck in water to eat and to propel themselves around the upper 6,500 feet of the ocean.

(Microplastics million times more abundant in the ocean than previously thought, National Science Foundation)