impel
English · Thesaurus
AI In plain words
Writing a short explanation…
Written by a house AI from the entry below, in your language. The entry itself is the source.
impel
- /ɪmˈpɛl/ UK, US
Rhymes with -ɛl
Where it comes from
From Middle English impellen, borrowed from Latin impellō.
verb impels · impelling · impelled
-
To urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid,[…]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types
Similar: actuate, motivate, abet, goose, fuel, light a fire under, send, sting, bring about, cheer, draw, drive · Opposite: propel
-
To drive forward; to propel an object, to provide an impetus for motion or action.
The wind impelled the kayaks toward the shore.
Similar: drive, press, propel, push, shove, thrutch · Opposite: restrain, retard, behedge, blunt, crimp, foreclose, delay, difficult, diminish, forestay, retroact, interfere
Thesaurus
Translations
Every language
verb To urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation
| Español | impeler, impulsar |
|---|---|
| 中文 | 促使 cù shǐ |
| Português | impelir |
| Français | motiver, inciter, pousser |
| Deutsch | antreiben, vorantreiben, treiben, nötigen |
| Română | motiva, impulsiona |
| Русский | побужда́ть pobuždátʹ |
Talk about this word "impel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/impel. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. impel. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/impel "impel." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/impel.Cite this
@misc{impel_2026,
title = {impel},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/impel},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
