impetus
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impetus
- /ˈɪm.pə.təs/
- /ɪmˈpiː.təs/ nonstandard, obsolete
Where it comes from
Borrowed from Latin impetus (“a rushing upon, an attack, assault, onset”), from impetō (“to rush upon, attack”), from in- (“upon”) + petō (“to seek, fall upon”).
noun impetuses · impetus
- Anything that impels; a stimulating factor. The outbreak of World War II in 1939 gave a new impetus to receiver development.
- A force, either internal or external, that impels; an impulse.
- The force or energy associated with a moving body; a stimulus.
- A principle of motive force, held as equivalent to weight times velocity by John Buridan, in an auxiliary theory of Aristotelian dynamics introduced by John Philoponus, describing projectile motion against gravity as linear until it transitions to a vertical drop and the intellectual precursor to the concepts of inertia, momentum and acceleration in classical mechanics.
- An activity in response to a stimulus.
Thesaurus
Closest in meaning: impulsion, impulse, drift, energy, propulsion, incitation, incitement, propelling, push, speed, stimulus, instigation, incentive, nudge, force, stimulation
Translations
Every language
noun something that impels
| Español | ímpetu |
|---|---|
| Deutsch | Antrieb, Schub, Anstoß, Anschub, Schwung |
| Italiano | impulso, spinta |
| Русский | и́мпульс ímpulʹs, сти́мул stímul, толчо́к tolčók |
noun a force, either internal or external, that impels; an impulse
| Español | ímpetu |
|---|---|
| Português | ímpeto |
| Français | élan |
| Deutsch | Triebkraft |
Talk about this word "impetus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/impetus. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026. impetus. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/impetus "impetus." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/impetus.Cite this
@misc{impetus_2026,
title = {impetus},
howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
year = {2026},
url = {https://micwyn.com/word/impetus},
urldate = {2026-11-06}
}
