Meaning & use
impel
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Meanings
verbtransitiveformal
To push someone strongly to take action, usually because of a feeling, belief or need inside them.
Grammar: Takes an object and a to-infinitive: curiosity impelled her to ask.
Patterns
- impel someone to do something
- be impelled by something
A sense of duty impelled him to report the mistake.
Hunger impelled the travelers to keep walking through the night.
She felt impelled to apologize at once.
verbtransitivetechnicalrare
To drive or push something physical forward with force.
Grammar: Takes an object, and is much rarer than the first sense: the engine impelled the boat.
Patterns
- impel something forward
The strong current impelled the raft toward the rocks.
A small motor impels the pump's blades around the shaft.
The wind impelled the sailboat across the bay.
Word forms
| third person singular | impels |
|---|---|
| past tense | impelled |
| past participle | impelled |
| -ing form | impelling |
Common combinations
- feel impelled to
- I felt impelled to speak up when I heard the rumor.
- impelled by curiosity
- Impelled by curiosity, he opened the old letter.
- impelled by fear
- Impelled by fear, they ran for the exit.
- impel someone to action
- The photographs impelled many readers to action.
- strongly impelled
- She was strongly impelled to start her own business.
Synonyms and how they differ
- compel
- Compel is usually pressure from outside, such as a law or an order, whereas impel is more often an inner drive.
- drive
- Drive is the plain everyday word and works in more situations, while impel sounds more formal and focuses on the reason behind the push.
- urge
- Urge means to encourage someone strongly, often by speaking to them, while impel means they actually feel pushed.
- motivate
- Motivate is milder and suggests giving a reason to act, while impel suggests a stronger pull that is hard to resist.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: impel or compel? impel or impede?
impel vs compel
Compel suggests force from outside such as a court order, while impel suggests a push from within such as guilt or curiosity.
impel vs impede
Impede means to slow or block, which is almost the opposite of impel, to push forward.
Practice
Which sentence uses impel correctly?
Choose one answer.
Impel fits an inner feeling pushing someone to act, so guilt impelled her to confess works. An order from a judge is outside pressure, which suits compel better, and the other two are not natural uses.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “impel”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.