Definify.com
Webster 1913 Edition
Impel
Im-pel′
,Verb.
T.
[
imp. & p. p.
Impelled
; p. pr. & vb. n.
Impelling
.] To drive or urge forward or on; to press on; to incite to action or motion in any way.
Syn. – To instigate; incite; induce; influence; force; drive; urge; actuate; move.
Webster 1828 Edition
Impel
IMPEL'
,Verb.
T.
To drive or urge forward; to press on; to excite to action or to move forward, by the application of physical force, or moral suasion or necessity. A ball is impelled by the force of powder; a ship is impelled by wind; a man may be impelled by hunger or a regard to his safety; motives of policy or of safety impel nations to confederate.
The surge impelled me on a craggy coast.
And several men impel to several ends.
Definition 2024
impel
impel
English
Verb
impel (third-person singular simple present impels, present participle impelling, simple past and past participle impelled)
- (transitive) To urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation (contrast with propel, to compel or drive extrinsically).
- 1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp:
- She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
-
- (transitive) To drive forward; to propel an object.
Synonyms
- (to drive forward): propel
Antonyms
Translations
To urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation
To drive forward; to propel an object