| Noun | 1. | impulse - an instinctive motive; "profound religious impulses"motivation, motive, need - the psychological feature that arouses an organism to action toward a desired goal; the reason for the action; that which gives purpose and direction to behavior; "we did not understand his motivation"; "he acted with the best of motives" abience - (psychology) an urge to withdraw or avoid a situation or an object adience - (psychology) an urge to accept or approach a situation or an object | |
| 2. | impulse - a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse"desire - the feeling that accompanies an unsatisfied state | |
| 3. | impulse - the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus"action potential - the local voltage change across the cell wall as a nerve impulse is transmitted | |
| 4. | 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"electronics - the branch of physics that deals with the emission and effects of electrons and with the use of electronic devices | |
| 5. | impulse - the act of applying force suddenly; "the impulse knocked him over"drive, driving force, thrust - the act of applying force to propel something; "after reaching the desired velocity the drive is cut off" | |
| 6. | impulse - an impelling force or strength; "the car's momentum carried it off the road"forcefulness, strength, force - physical energy or intensity; "he hit with all the force he could muster"; "it was destroyed by the strength of the gale"; "a government has not the vitality and forcefulness of a living man" | |