WordWeb Online

1. An instinctive motive
   "profound religious impulses";
   - urge
    
2. A sudden desire
   "he bought it on an impulse";
   - caprice, whim
    
3. The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fibre
   "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus";
   - nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse
    
4. (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
   - pulsation, pulsing, pulse
    
5. The act of applying force suddenly
   "the impulse knocked him over";
   - impulsion, impetus
    
6. An impelling force or strength
   - momentum

Derived forms: impulses

Type of: desire, drive, driving force, electrical discharge, force, forcefulness, motivation, motive, need, strength, thrust, undulation, wave

Encyclopedia: Impulse