an instinctive motive; profound religious impulses

[ Syn: urge ]

a sudden desire; he bought it on an impulse

[ Syn: caprice , whim ]

the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus

[ Syn: nerve impulse , nervous impulse , neural impulse ]

(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients); the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star

[ Syn: pulsation , pulsing , pulse ]

the act of applying force suddenly; the impulse knocked him over

[ Syn: impulsion , impetus ]

an impelling force or strength; the cars momentum carried it off the road

[ Syn: momentum ]