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Impulse vs Desire - What's the difference?

impulse | desire |

Desire is a synonym of impulse.



As nouns the difference between impulse and desire

is that impulse is a thrust; a push; a sudden force that impels while desire is someone or something wished for.

As verbs the difference between impulse and desire

is that impulse is to impel; to incite while desire is to want; to wish for earnestly.

impulse

Noun

(en noun)
  • A thrust; a push; a sudden force that impels.
  • * S. Clarke
  • All spontaneous animal motion is performed by mechanical impulse .
  • A wish or urge, particularly a sudden one prompting action.
  • 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.
  • * Dryden
  • These were my natural impulses for the undertaking.
  • * {{quote-book, year=1907, author=
  • , title=The Dust of Conflict , chapter=20 citation , passage=Tony's face expressed relief, and Nettie sat silent for a moment until the vicar said “It was a generous impulse , but it may have been a momentary one,
  • (physics) The integral of force over time.
  • The total impulse from the impact will depend on the kinetic energy of the bullet.

    Derived terms

    * impulse buy * nerve impulse * on impulse

    References

    * * * [ impulse in the Online Etymology Dictionary]

    Verb

    (impuls)
  • (obsolete) To impel; to incite.
  • (Alexander Pope)
    ----

    desire

    English

    Verb

    (desir)
  • To want; to wish for earnestly.
  • * Bible, Exodus xxxiv. 24
  • Neither shall any man desire thy land.
  • * Tennyson
  • Ye desire your child to live.
  • To put a request to (someone); to entreat.
  • * 1526 , (William Tyndale), trans. Bible , Acts XIII:
  • And when they founde no cause of deeth in hym, yet desired they Pilate to kyll him.
  • *
  • , title=The Mirror and the Lamp , chapter=2 citation , passage=That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired .}}
  • To want emotionally or sexually.
  • To express a wish for; to entreat; to request.
  • * Bible, 2 Kings iv. 28
  • Then she said, Did I desire a son of my lord?
  • * Shakespeare
  • Desire him to go in; trouble him no more.
  • To require; to demand; to claim.
  • * Spenser
  • A doleful case desires a doleful song.
  • To miss; to regret.
  • * Jeremy Taylor
  • She shall be pleasant while she lives, and desired when she dies.

    Noun

    (en-noun)
  • (countable) Someone or something wished for.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author=David Simpson
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=36, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= Fantasy of navigation , passage=It is tempting to speculate about the incentives or compulsions that might explain why anyone would take to the skies in [the] basket [of a balloon]: perhaps out of a desire to escape the gravity of this world or to get a preview of the next; […].}}
  • (uncountable) Strong attraction, particularly romantic or sexual.
  • (uncountable) Motivation.
  • (uncountable) The feeling of desire.
  • Synonyms

    * (one or thing wished for) wanna, want-to * (motivation) wanna, want-to

    See also

    * velleity

    Statistics

    *

    Anagrams

    * * English control verbs