1
as in incentives
something that arouses action or activity
the new auto factory was just the impulse that the local economy needed
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in tendencies
a habitual attraction to some activity or thing
the universal, fundamental impulse of self-preservation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impulses
If convicted, Mangione will have solidified a fateful decision to give in to murderous impulses and thrown away a promising future, totally ruining his own life.
—
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 6 Mar. 2025
Funny how impulses come and go.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
All these years later, that performance's moral ambiguity is a feature, not a bug, and there's a thrill to watching Hackman deftly navigate the character's warring impulses.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
The conventional wisdom on the left is that this state of affairs is the work of the country’s old Jim Crow laws, an institution that was itself a creature created by the nation’s darkest and most conservative impulses.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
These new impulses have been fed both by technological advancements in sound producing and an increase in composers from independent-music backgrounds.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
That discourse feels quaint a decade or so later; despite what American protectionist impulses may linger, rap is now the lingua franca of youth.
—Meaghan Garvey, Pitchfork, 25 Feb. 2025
For the past three seasons, the series has revealed the quirks, impulses, excesses, dysfunctions, nuances and eccentricities of the wealthy against the backdrop of a luxury resort chain and its not-so faceless employees.
—Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
But denial and avoidance are also human impulses, often more powerful than our need to know.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 22 Feb. 2025
Baltimore Sun Editorial Board, Baltimore Sun, 6 Mar. 2025
Funny how impulses come and go.
—Brian Hiatt, Rolling Stone, 28 Feb. 2025
All these years later, that performance's moral ambiguity is a feature, not a bug, and there's a thrill to watching Hackman deftly navigate the character's warring impulses.
—Randall Colburn, EW.com, 27 Feb. 2025
The conventional wisdom on the left is that this state of affairs is the work of the country’s old Jim Crow laws, an institution that was itself a creature created by the nation’s darkest and most conservative impulses.
—Marc J. Dunkelman, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
These new impulses have been fed both by technological advancements in sound producing and an increase in composers from independent-music backgrounds.
—Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 27 Feb. 2025
That discourse feels quaint a decade or so later; despite what American protectionist impulses may linger, rap is now the lingua franca of youth.
—Meaghan Garvey, Pitchfork, 25 Feb. 2025
For the past three seasons, the series has revealed the quirks, impulses, excesses, dysfunctions, nuances and eccentricities of the wealthy against the backdrop of a luxury resort chain and its not-so faceless employees.
—Bianca Salonga, Forbes, 24 Feb. 2025
But denial and avoidance are also human impulses, often more powerful than our need to know.
—Sean Illing, Vox, 22 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impulses
Noun
-
The financial incentives can quell those concerns.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Through the initiative, the group was tasked with recruiting and retaining housing providers through financial incentives, creating a broader network of potential homes for people in need.—
Desiree Mathurin,
Charlotte Observer,
31 Mar. 2025
Noun
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But his theory seemed to mirror the temperament of Deng, who, for all his reformist tendencies, was a ruthless apparatchik.—
Chang Che,
The New Yorker,
21 Dec. 2024
-
This could potentially wear them out, disperse their argumentative bluster, and might even open their eyes to their woefully over-the-top arguing tendencies.—
Lance Eliot,
Forbes,
20 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
For fashion cognoscenti this is a refreshing departure from quiet luxury inclinations–and and overdue return into the arms of maximalism.—
Bianca Salonga,
Forbes,
19 Mar. 2025
-
Walker Wear was bred from these inclinations–and its take-off was historic.—
Robyn Mowatt,
Essence,
19 Mar. 2025
Noun
-
The motivations driving Theroux’s slippery character are harder to read, which feels right, as well.—
Nina Metz,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2025
-
Frozen, isolated, because of someone else’s dark motivations.—
Michael Schneider,
Variety,
27 Feb. 2025
Noun
-
This barrage of sensory stimuli asks more of our cognition than it is equipped to handle.—
Richard E. Cytowic,
TIME,
23 Dec. 2024
-
Light stimuli might still feel irritating.—
Lauryn Higgins,
Flow Space,
16 Dec. 2024
Noun
-
Together, Johnson and León offer an intense rendering of this song praising a passionate lover whose affections are worth the heartbreaking pain that ultimately follows.—
Jessica Nicholson,
Billboard,
31 Mar. 2025
-
Gambon plays a mobster who takes over a restaurant while his wife’s affections wander elsewhere.—
Mark Olsen,
Los Angeles Times,
21 Mar. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impulses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impulses. Accessed 25 Apr. 2025.
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