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His discoveries have given impetus to further research.
the reward money should be sufficient impetus for someone to come forward with information about the robbery
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'impetus.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
You already have plenty of incentive to learn the origin of "impetus," so we won't force the point. "Impetus" comes from Latin, where it means "attack or assault"; the verb "impetere" was formed by combining the prefix in- with petere, meaning "to go to or seek." "Petere" also gives us other words suggesting a forceful urging or momentum, such as "appetite," "perpetual," and "centripetal." "Impetus" describes the kind of force that encourages an action ("the impetus behind the project") or the momentum of an action already begun ("the meetings only gave impetus to the rumors of a merger").
: a force that causes something (such as a process or activity) to be done or to become more active
: a force that causes an object to begin moving or to continue to move
Thesaurus: All synonyms and antonyms for impetus Spanish Central: Translation of impetus Nglish: Translation of impetus for Spanish speakers Britannica English: Translation of impetus for Arabic speakers
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