Synonyms: impetus, impulse, impulsion
Definition: the act of applying force suddenly
Usage: the impulse knocked him over
Similar words: drive, driving force, thrust
Definition: the act of applying force to propel something
Usage: after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off
Definition: an impelling force or strength
Usage: the car's momentum carried it off the road
Similar words: force, forcefulness, strength
Definition: physical energy or intensity
Usage: he hit with all the force he could muster; it was destroyed by the strength of the gale; a government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man
Synonyms: impulse, nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse
Definition: the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
Usage: they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus
Similar words: electrical discharge
Definition: a discharge of electricity
Synonyms: impulse, pulsation, pulse, pulsing
Definition: (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
Usage: the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star
Similar words: undulation, wave
Definition: (physics) a movement up and down or back and forth
Synonyms: impulse, whim, caprice
Definition: a sudden desire
Usage: he bought it on an impulse
Similar words: desire
Definition: the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state
Definition: an instinctive motive
Usage: profound religious impulses
Similar words: need, motivation, motive
Definition: the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior
Usage: we did not understand his motivation; he acted with the best of motives