impulse

US: /ˈɪmpəɫs/, /ˌɪmˈpəɫs/
UK: /ˈɪmpʌls/


English Vietnamese dictionary


impulse /'impʌls/
  • danh từ
    • sức đẩy tới
      • to give an impulse to trade: đẩy mạnh việc buôn bán
    • sự bốc đồng; cơn bốc đồng
      • a man of impulse: người hay bốc đồng
    • sự thúc đẩy, sự thôi thúc
    • (kỹ thuật) xung lực

Advanced English dictionary


+ noun
1 [C, usually sing, U] ~ (to do sth) a sudden strong wish or need to do sth, without stopping to think about the results: He had a sudden impulse to stand up and sing. + I resisted the impulse to laugh. + Her first impulse was to run away. + The door was open and on (an) impulse she went inside. + He tends to act on impulse.
2 [C] (technical) a force or movement of energy that causes sth else to react: nerve / electrical impulses + The impulse is conducted along the length of the wire.
3 [C, usually sing, U] (formal) something that causes sb/sth to do sth or to develop and make progress: to give an impulse to the struggling car industry + He was motivated by the impulse for social reform.

Collocation dictionary


1 sudden strong wish

ADJ.

strong | irresistible | first, original
My first impulse was to run away.
| sudden | basic | instinctual, natural | repressed | conflicting, contradictory, contrary | aggressive, violent | creative | sexual

VERB + IMPULSE

feel, have
She felt a sudden impulse to look to her left.
| be subject to
We are all subject to aggressive impulses.
| be driven by | check, control, deny, fight (back/down), resist, restrain, stifle, suppress
He fought down an impulse to scream.
| give in to, obey, yield to
She gave in to an impulse and took the money.
| act on
Acting on impulse, he picked up the keys and slipped them into his pocket.
| buy sth on
Some people will buy a puppy on impulse without any idea of what is involved.

IMPULSE + VERB

arise
Impulses that are repeatedly denied can arise in other forms.

IMPULSE + NOUN

buy, purchase
The little black designer dress had been an impulse buy.
| buying | buyer

PREP.

on (an) ~
On an impulse, I went into the shop and bought a box of chocolates.
| ~ towards
basic impulses towards things such as food and drink

2 movement of energy

ADJ.

electrical, nerve/nervous

VERB + IMPULSE

transmit
Nerve impulses are transmitted to the brain.
| convert sth into, transform sth into
Radio waves are converted into electrical impulses.

3 sth that causes sb/sth to do sth

ADJ.

positive | political, social

IMPULSE + VERB

lead (sb/sth) to sth, prompt (sb/sth to sth)
the impulse that prompted economic change

PREP.

~ behind
the impulse behind a concept
| ~ for
the impulse for social reform
| ~ toward
the political impulses towards joining a trade union


Concise English dictionary


impulses'ɪmpʌls
noun
+an instinctive motive
+a sudden desire
+the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
+(electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
+the act of applying force suddenly
+an impelling force or strength