Webster's English Dictionary

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impulse

Cross references:
  1. motive                
 
1. im.pulse \'im-.p*ls\ n [L impulsus, fr. impulsus, pp. of impellere to 
   impel] 1a: the act of driving onward with sudden force : IMPULSION  1b: 
   motion produced by such an impulsion : IMPETUS  1c: a wave of excitation 
   transmitted through tissues and esp. nerve fibers  and muscles that results 
   in physiological activity or inhibition 2a: a force so communicated as to 
   produce motion suddenly  2b: INCENTIVE  2c: INSPIRATION, MOTIVATION  3a: a 
   sudden spontaneous inclination or incitement to some usu. unpremediat ed 
   action 3b: a propensity or natural tendency usu. other than rational  4a: 
   the product of the average value of a force and the time during which i t 
   acts being a quantity equal to the change in momentum produced by the force 
   4b: PULSE 
2. im.pulse \'im-.p*ls, im-'\ vt : to give an impulse to