Library / English Dictionary

IMPEL

Pronunciation (US):

(GB):

Irregular inflected forms: impelled    , impelling   

 I. (verb) 

Sense 1

Meaning:

Cause to move forward with force

Example:

Steam propels this ship

Synonyms:

impel; propel

Classified under:

Verbs of touching, hitting, tying, digging

Hypernyms (to "impel" is one way to...):

displace; move (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense)

Troponyms (each of the following is one way to "impel"):

flip (move with a flick or light motion)

rocket (propel with a rocket)

carry (propel or give impetus to)

kick (drive or propel with the foot)

pole; punt (propel with a pole)

hit (cause to move by striking)

throw (propel through the air)

drive (push, propel, or press with force)

launch (propel with force)

catapult (shoot forth or launch, as if from a catapult)

project; send off (throw, send, or cast forward)

loft (propel through the air)

Sentence frames:

Somebody ----s something
Something ----s something

Derivation:

impellent (forcing forward or onward; impelling)

impeller (the blade of a rotor (as in the compressor of a jet engine))

impulsion (the act of applying force suddenly)

Sense 2

Meaning:

Urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate

Synonyms:

force; impel

Classified under:

Verbs of sewing, baking, painting, performing

Hypernyms (to "impel" is one way to...):

cause; do; make (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally)

Sentence frame:

Somebody ----s somebody to INFINITIVE

Sentence example:

They impel him to write the letter

Derivation:

impulsion (a force that moves something along)

impulsive (having the power of driving or impelling)

Credits

 Context examples: 

It was what I remotely dreaded when I was first impelled to stay away from England.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

My rage was without bounds; I sprang on him, impelled by all the feelings which can arm one being against the existence of another.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)

Miss Crawford had been in gay spirits when they first danced together, but it was not her gaiety that could do him good: it rather sank than raised his comfort; and afterwards, for he found himself still impelled to seek her again, she had absolutely pained him by her manner of speaking of the profession to which he was now on the point of belonging.

(Mansfield Park, by Jane Austen)

These bitter accusations might have been suppressed, had I, with greater policy, concealed my struggles, and flattered you into the belief of my being impelled by unqualified, unalloyed inclination; by reason, by reflection, by everything.

(Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen)

A method of roughening the surface of a natural tooth or a dental restoration, most likely the inside of a metal crown or the facial side of a metal crown to prepare it for repair, utilizing a gas-impelled jet of a fine abrasive.

(Microetching, NCI Thesaurus)

His is the courage of fear,—a strange thing I know well of myself,—and at any moment it may master the fear and impel him to the taking of my life.

(The Sea-Wolf, by Jack London)

His mother and fear impelled him to keep away from the white wall.

(White Fang, by Jack London)

And his fresh mind, untaxed for twenty years and impelled by maturity of desire, gripped hold of what he read with a virility unusual to the student mind.

(Martin Eden, by Jack London)

So sensible of this, beforehand, that I had really felt ashamed of doing what I was nevertheless impelled to do, I went back to the inn.

(David Copperfield, by Charles Dickens)

I did not dare return to the apartment which I inhabited, but felt impelled to hurry on, although drenched by the rain which poured from a black and comfortless sky.

(Frankenstein, by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley)