as in incentive
something that arouses action or activity
the reward money should be sufficient impetus for someone to come forward with information about the robbery
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Recent Examples of impetus
His impetus to draw these posters — which are available for sale on his website — is self-driven.
—
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026
While the trade deal had been in negotiations for years, held up by domestic opposition, Washington’s tariff campaign created a new impetus.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Mar. 2026
While the state has pointed to the rising cost of health insurance as the impetus for its program changes, the Times/Herald found that Department of Health leadership forced out key program employees months earlier.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
Flexibility was an impetus for the team’s formation three years ago.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impetus
Nina Metz, Chicago Tribune, 25 Mar. 2026
While the trade deal had been in negotiations for years, held up by domestic opposition, Washington’s tariff campaign created a new impetus.
—Liz Hoffman, semafor.com, 24 Mar. 2026
While the state has pointed to the rising cost of health insurance as the impetus for its program changes, the Times/Herald found that Department of Health leadership forced out key program employees months earlier.
—Romy Ellenbogen, Miami Herald, 24 Mar. 2026
Flexibility was an impetus for the team’s formation three years ago.
—Noah Lyons, San Diego Union-Tribune, 22 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for impetus
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impetus
Noun
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The core problem, attorney fee incentives, was left untouched.—
Tom Manzo,
Oc Register,
6 Apr. 2026
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The incentive structure is based on multiples of five cases from the Criminal Trial Support Unit’s unassigned defendants’ list, where bar advocates can take on five, 10, or 15 such cases for a possible maximum of $7,500 in incentive bonuses — 15 cases at $500 each.—
Flint McColgan,
Boston Herald,
5 Apr. 2026
Noun
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February 19 – March 20 Soft encouragement wraps around your rough edges.—
Tarot.com,
Baltimore Sun,
4 Apr. 2026
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Dozens of friends and supporters held a march for peace near the Coral Springs Museum of Art, gathering with words of encouragement and calls to condemn the violence.—
Steve Maugeri,
CBS News,
4 Apr. 2026
Noun
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What were the hostage takers’ motivations?—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
4 Apr. 2026
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The other is a patchy, unpersuasive psychodrama about the underlying motivations and years-later ramifications of an unspeakable act—or, in this case, an unrealized plan to commit an unspeakable act.—
Hannah Jocelyn,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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To check whether progesterone was the trigger, the researchers removed the female from the barrier tank and replaced her with conical plastic tubes coated with various chemical stimuli, sliding them into the small holes of the wall divider.—
Jacek Krywko,
ArsTechnica,
2 Apr. 2026
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In general, weight loss means less load on your bones, which reduces the stimulus to create new bone cells.—
Erica Sloan,
SELF,
31 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impetus.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetus. Accessed 8 Apr. 2026.
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