impulses

noun

plural of impulse
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impulses Trump has continued to demand lower rates, leading some to infer Warsh is holding off raising rates until after the November midterm election to unleash his hawkish impulses. — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026 Executive functioning refers to the mental skills people use to plan, organize, focus, decide, solve problems, regulate emotions and impulses, and complete multi-step activities. — Jose Bolaños, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026 Electrical impulses carry our messages across those routes, with synapses serving as intersections, and chemical signals helping control the flow of traffic. — Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 Initially, diplomats assigned to the region sought to counter Bukele’s growing influence by sharply denouncing his anti-democratic impulses. — Daniel Castro, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026 Sigmund Freud wrote that dreams were a kind of acting-out of repressed impulses. — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026 In that collision of impulses, one name stands above the rest. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 17 Aug. 2026 Angels doesn’t feel architectural in nearly the same way, but the strange impulses and movements of the book are really appealing. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 The warring impulses ought to cancel each other out, but Dante orchestrates his films’ elements so deftly that the contradictions enrich each other and create a worldview more distinctive and complex than those of Lucas and Spielberg. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impulses
  1. incentives
  2. tendencies
  3. encouragements
  4. inclinations
  5. motivations
  6. aptitudes
  7. impetuses
  8. affinities
Noun
  • Industry stakeholders argued that the measure had the unintended consequence of hamstringing Hollywood’s recovery by limiting the ability of studios to use state incentives for in-state production.
    — Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Aug. 2026
  • Pritzker even signed a 2019 bill that encouraged the use of tax incentives to help ensure data-center growth.
    — David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of incentives
Noun
  • This sense of threat can trigger authoritarian tendencies, including support for taking away civil liberties like the ability to give public speeches or run for political office from disliked others.
    — Paul Djupe, The Conversation, 20 Aug. 2026
  • The New York Young Republicans Club’s Nazi tendencies are well known.
    — Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026
Definition of tendencies
Noun
  • Many folks send encouragements toward OP mom and her son, while others put heat on the other parents for sexualizing their kids’ friendship.
    — DeVonne Goode, Parents, 26 July 2026
  • All through the park, competitors and onlookers hit vapes and shout tips and encouragements into trees.
    — Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026
Definition of encouragements
Noun
  • Putin will eventually leave office, whether by death, illness, or—against all observable inclinations—stepping aside.
    — Julian G. Waller, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
  • People with gene variants that affect these inclinations may also be at a higher risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes, researchers found.
    — Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 28 July 2026
Definition of inclinations
Noun
  • Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself.
    — Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
  • For example, experts might put a lot of effort into listening to community needs to demonstrate integrity and openness, but miss opportunities to communicate the underlying benevolent motivations driving their work.
    — John C. Besley, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of motivations
Noun
  • For this class, the premise is that your purpose in life lies to the intersection of your values, your aptitudes and your interests.
    — Dana Taylor, USA Today, 6 May 2026
  • This model reflects Japan’s long-standing corporate culture, which prioritizes new hires for their general potential—their aptitudes and aspirations, as opposed to their current skill sets or university majors—and then trains them on the job.
    — GRACIA LIU-FARRER, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025
Definition of aptitudes
Noun
  • One of the main impetuses for this is that newer planes are flying further, which means airline routes are getting longer.
    — Jessica Puckett, Condé Nast Traveler, 6 June 2025
Definition of impetuses
Noun
  • The dragons are identical to those seen on screen and each possess unique passive Habit abilities, troop affinities and powerful synergies.
    — Tanya Fedak, Variety, 18 Aug. 2026
  • This week, Margot Robbie, Jennifer Lawrence, and Kristen Stewart all planted a flag, making their personal jorts affinities known.
    — Hannah Jackson, Vogue, 17 Aug. 2026
Definition of affinities

Browse Nearby Words

impulse
impulses
impulsion
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Impulses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impulses. Accessed 1 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation
Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Why does English have so many silent letters?

7 Pairs of Commonly Confused Words
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

Even More Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
skateboard-dog-hat
Wordmaxxing Slang Quiz Give your vocabulary a glow up by getting sendy w...
See All