Impulse
WordNet
noun
(1) The act of applying force suddenly
"The impulse knocked him over"
(2) An impelling force or strength
"The car's momentum carried it off the road"
(3) The electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
"They demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus"
(4) (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"
(5) A sudden desire
"He bought it on an impulse"
(6) An instinctive motive
"Profound religious impulses"
WiktionaryText
Noun
- A wish or urge, particularly a sudden one.
- The impulse to learn drove me to study night and day.
- When I saw the new dictionary, I couldn't resist the impulse to browse through it.
- The integral of force over time.
- The total impulse from the impact will depend on the kinetic energy of the bullet.