impel
Americanverb
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to urge or force (a person) to an action; constrain or motivate
-
to push, drive, or force into motion
Synonym Usage
See compel.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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impelsimple
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impelssimple
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have impelledperfect
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has impelledperfect
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am impellingprogressive
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are impellingprogressive
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is impellingprogressive
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have been impellingperfect progressive
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has been impellingperfect progressive
Past
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impelledsimple
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had impelledperfect
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was impellingprogressive
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were impellingprogressive
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had been impellingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of impel
First recorded in 1375–1425; late Middle English impellen, from Latin impellere “to strike against, set in motion,” from im- im- 1 + pellere “to strike, move”; cf. pulse 1
Explanation
Impel means to force to move forward. A person sleep walking might move as if impelled by a force beyond their control. Loneliness might impel you to talk to someone you don't know. Impel derives from the Latin in- "toward" + pellere "to drive," which also brings us compel "to force" and propel "to drive forward." The boy was propelled by his fears, but when he said fear of bullies impelled him to stay home on Halloween, his mother compelled him to dress and go outside.
Vocabulary lists containing impel
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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"The Bells" by Edgar Allan Poe
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Mahatma Gandhi's "Quit India" Speech
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Directly employing subcontractors could also impel Amazon to carry more expensive insurance coverage, which would raise delivery costs.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
The rules of Washington would normally impel a person at Esper’s level to seek cover for his actions.
From Salon ● Aug. 3, 2024
John Bulkeley, the Wager’s gunner, a weapons expert and “instinctive leader” whose Bible-inspired narrative gifts would impel him to write an indelible account of events.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 14, 2023
Where Mehretu saturates space, Sorey vacates it, yet both painter and composer offer vital examples of how to create at full scale when the times impel others to reduce their ambition.
From New York Times ● Sep. 28, 2022
He saw enough in her face to impel him to take her hand and hold it while he said his lingering good night “Will you go to the races again?” he asked.
From "The Awakening" by Kate Chopin
It impels a creature who feels it to seek out much-needed water much more powerfully than any nonconscious mechanism could.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Wilzek, the novel’s unlikely hero, does look closely, and what he sees impels him to take a moral stand.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 4, 2025
What is it that impels Scarry to go there?
From Washington Post ● Sep. 2, 2022
Not just because it inspires, but also because it impels.
From Seattle Times ● Apr. 4, 2018
They simply have the courage to go straight before them as long as the wind impels them.
From The Recollections of Alexis de Tocqueville by Alexis de Tocqueville
A sense of duty, rooted for many in a profound Christian faith, impelled each to take extraordinary risks.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 19, 2025
What impelled him, and what does it mean?
From Slate ● Sep. 26, 2025
His frustration and anger at the press, however, impelled him to buck convention by suing newspaper owners — allegedly against the wishes of his father, now King Charles III.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 4, 2023
I was surprised to notice, when I had finished my narrative, that the room was full of women, who, impelled by curiosity, had come to see me, and to hear what I had to say.
From Textbooks ● Dec. 14, 2022
“I don’t know what it was. Why I...felt so impelled to do that, but I did.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
Since it started quantitative tightening in June, the Fed has been putting downward pressure on prices and impelling yields — and, especially, mortgage rates — upward.
From New York Times ● Mar. 17, 2023
For Emerson, Thoreau and James, Richardson tells us, it was as if their losses had marked their souls, altering their mind-sets and impelling them forward with different perspectives, and sometimes different directions, than before.
From Washington Post ● Jan. 26, 2023
One of the pleasures of writing for me is to discover what is it that is impelling me to engage with these characters.
From Seattle Times ● Jan. 27, 2022
“Get at Me Dog” is an impelling and incendiary piece of music, like four minutes of a bomb going off.
From Slate ● Apr. 11, 2021
He was excited and something was impelling him to become more excited.
From "Native Son" by Richard Wright
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
