impulses
Whims that strike
Impulses is the plural of impulse—sudden urges to act without deliberation: She fought the impulse to laugh.
The word suggests forces that move us before reason intervenes.
In physics and physiology, impulses are brief signals or forces: nerve impulses, electrical impulses.
Someone who acts on impulse follows spontaneous urges rather than plans.
Existing since birth
- reflexInvoluntary stimulus response
- gutDigestive tract, or instinct
- primalFirst in origin
- survivalRemaining alive against odds
maternal · protective · territorial · fight-or-flight · visceral · automatic · involuntary · hardwired
Powerful urge to have
- longingIntense, persistent desire
- yearningIntense prolonged craving
- itchUrge to scratch
- hankeringPersistent strong desire
thirst · appetite · desire · lust · hunger · pining · coveting · want
Occurring without prior notice
- unplannedNot arranged beforehand
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- whimsicalPlayfully fanciful or erratic
- snapSudden sharp sound
spur-of-the-moment · rash · impetuous · hasty · reckless · unpremeditated · capricious · unthinking
innate
Existing since birth
survival · maternal · protective · territorial · fight-or-flight · visceral · automatic · involuntary · hardwired · intuitive
craving
Powerful urge to have
hankering · thirst · appetite · desire · lust · hunger · pining · coveting · want · need
sudden
Occurring without prior notice
- unplannedNot arranged beforehand
- impromptuWithout advance preparation
- whimsicalPlayfully fanciful or erratic
snap · spur-of-the-moment · rash · impetuous · hasty · reckless · unpremeditated · capricious · unthinking · knee-jerk
momentum
Product of mass, velocity
- forceStrength or compulsion
- thrustForceful forward motion
- propulsionForce driving movement forward
energy · collision · impact · push · burst · surge · jolt · shock · kick · trigger
nerve
Signal-carrying body fiber
current · transmission · stimulus · voltage · discharge · pulse · conduction · firing · neural · bioelectric
- stimulationarousal, excitement, activation, sensory input, jolt
- actingacting, act, performing, playacting, actor
- behaviorshabit, aggressive, agitation, conduct, passive
- inner experiencesemotion, feeling, sensation, thought, joy
- inner lifeidentity, feelings, memory, thoughts, self-discovery
- psychepsyche, soul, mind, ego, id
impulsesdeliberation
Careful weighing of choices
calculation · forethought · premeditation · planning · reflection
impulsespulls
Draws toward oneself
compulsions · obligations · mandates · coercion · requirements
impulsesinhibitions
Mental barriers limiting behavior
restraints · disincentives · deterrents · self-control · suppression
- on impulseWithout prior deliberation
- impulse buyUnplanned spur-of-the-moment acquisition
- impulse purchaseUnplanned buying decision
- impulse buyingUnplanned purchase decision
- impulse controlRegulating sudden urges
- impulse buyerOne who purchases impulsively
impulse, impulsive, impulsively, impulsiveness, impulsion, impulsivity