impulse : Dictionary / Wörterbuch (BEOLINGUS, TU Chemnitz)

English Dictionary: impulse	by the DICT Development Group
3 results for impulse
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
impulse n an instinctive motive; "profound religious impulses" [syn: urge, impulse] a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse" Synonym(s): caprice, impulse, whim the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus" Synonym(s): nerve impulse, nervous impulse, neural impulse, 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" Synonym(s): pulsation, pulsing, pulse, impulse the act of applying force suddenly; "the impulse knocked him over" Synonym(s): impulse, impulsion, impetus an impelling force or strength; "the car's momentum carried it off the road" Synonym(s): momentum, impulse
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Impulse \Im"pulse\, n. [L. impulsus, fr. impellere. See {Impel}.] 1. The act of impelling, or driving onward with sudden force; impulsion; especially, force so communicated as to produced motion suddenly, or immediately. All spontaneous animal motion is performed by mechanical impulse. --S. Clarke. 2. The effect of an impelling force; motion produced by a sudden or momentary force. 3. (Mech.) The action of a force during a very small interval of time; the effect of such action; as, the impulse of a sudden blow upon a hard elastic body. 4. A mental force which simply and directly urges to action; hasty inclination; sudden motive; momentary or transient influence of appetite or passion; propension; incitement; as, a man of good impulses; passion often gives a violent impulse to the will. These were my natural impulses for the undertaking. --Dryden. Syn: Force; incentive; influence; motive; feeling; incitement; instigation.
From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) [web1913]:
Impulse \Im*pulse"\, v. t. [See {Impel}.] To impel; to incite. [Obs.] --Pope.