IMPULSES Synonyms: 105 Similar and Opposite Words

impulses

noun

plural of impulse

as in incentives

something that arouses action or activity the new auto factory was just the impulse that the local economy needed

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in tendencies

a habitual attraction to some activity or thing the universal, fundamental impulse of self-preservation

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of impulses Trump has continued to demand lower rates, leading some to infer Warsh is holding off raising rates until after the November midterm election to unleash his hawkish impulses. — Matt Peterson, CNBC, 28 Aug. 2026 Executive functioning refers to the mental skills people use to plan, organize, focus, decide, solve problems, regulate emotions and impulses, and complete multi-step activities. — Jose Bolaños, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Aug. 2026 Electrical impulses carry our messages across those routes, with synapses serving as intersections, and chemical signals helping control the flow of traffic. — Julian Hayes Ii, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026 Initially, diplomats assigned to the region sought to counter Bukele’s growing influence by sharply denouncing his anti-democratic impulses. — Daniel Castro, New Yorker, 18 Aug. 2026 Sigmund Freud wrote that dreams were a kind of acting-out of repressed impulses. — Veronique Greenwood, Time, 18 Aug. 2026 In that collision of impulses, one name stands above the rest. — Steve Appleford, SPIN, 17 Aug. 2026 Angels doesn’t feel architectural in nearly the same way, but the strange impulses and movements of the book are really appealing. — Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2026 The warring impulses ought to cancel each other out, but Dante orchestrates his films’ elements so deftly that the contradictions enrich each other and create a worldview more distinctive and complex than those of Lucas and Spielberg. — Jim Hemphill, IndieWire, 13 Aug. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impulses

Noun

Industry stakeholders argued that the measure had the unintended consequence of hamstringing Hollywood’s recovery by limiting the ability of studios to use state incentives for in-state production.

— Gene Maddaus, Variety, 29 Aug. 2026
Pritzker even signed a 2019 bill that encouraged the use of tax incentives to help ensure data-center growth.

— David Greising, Chicago Tribune, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of incentives

Noun

Wanda’s obsessive drive to succeed ignites her darker side and self-destructive tendencies that led to her drug addiction.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026
Your more shadowy tendencies are liable to pop out around this time, particularly the ones that stem from an insecure attachment style.

— Steph Koyfman, Condé Nast Traveler, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of tendencies

Noun

Many folks send encouragements toward OP mom and her son, while others put heat on the other parents for sexualizing their kids’ friendship.

— DeVonne Goode, Parents, 26 July 2026
All through the park, competitors and onlookers hit vapes and shout tips and encouragements into trees.

— Calin Van Paris, Outside, 19 Mar. 2026

Definition of encouragements

Noun

Putin will eventually leave office, whether by death, illness, or—against all observable inclinations—stepping aside.

— Julian G. Waller, Foreign Affairs, 7 Aug. 2026
People with gene variants that affect these inclinations may also be at a higher risk of developing obesity and type 2 diabetes, researchers found.

— Emily Kay Votruba, EverydayHealth.com, 28 July 2026

Definition of inclinations

Noun

Palal acknowledged that Davis’ accounts of the killing evolved over the years but argued those differences reflected Davis’ changing motivations and efforts to protect himself.

— Jonathan Landrum Jr, Chicago Tribune, 1 Sep. 2026
For example, experts might put a lot of effort into listening to community needs to demonstrate integrity and openness, but miss opportunities to communicate the underlying benevolent motivations driving their work.

— John C. Besley, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026

Definition of motivations

Noun

For this class, the premise is that your purpose in life lies to the intersection of your values, your aptitudes and your interests.

— Dana Taylor, USA Today, 6 May 2026
This model reflects Japan’s long-standing corporate culture, which prioritizes new hires for their general potential—their aptitudes and aspirations, as opposed to their current skill sets or university majors—and then trains them on the job.

— GRACIA LIU-FARRER, Foreign Affairs, 18 Nov. 2025

Definition of aptitudes

Noun

As opposed to infantile regression, the oceanic feeling can also be understood as a means of recapturing a repressed sense of relation, connection, affinities.

— George Baker, Artforum, 1 Sep. 2026
Marino also has a penchant for seeing affinities in the work of two artists who paths likely never crossed, as is the case with his two-person exhibition of Parsons and Accardi.

— Daniel Cassady, ARTnews.com, 27 Aug. 2026

Definition of affinities

Browse Nearby Words

impulse

impulses

impulsion

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Impulses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impulses. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of impulses

noun

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

matriculate

Popular in Grammar & Usage

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

A List of Most Commonly Confused Words

Why do we use apostrophes to show possession?

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Ye Olde Nincompoop: Old-Fashioned Words for 'Stupid'

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Words of the Week - Sept. 4

Popular

A Who’s Who Regarding ‘Who’s’ and ‘Whose’

The Longest Long Words List

Stay Woke

Games & Quizzes