1
as in drove
to set or keep in motion
gasoline impels a car's engine
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in compelled
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure
I felt impelled to tell the truth, however painful it might be
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impelled
Both were impelled to launch ninth-inning pushes to persuade Oscar voters that Shakespeare wasn’t really in love and Private Ryan needed serious saving.
—
Peter Bart, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel’s commercial failure as a novelist impelled him to move to Los Angeles to try writing for the movies.
—David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
While the recent protests were sparked by the social media ban, protesters said that they had been impelled by years of government corruption and failure to provide young people with economic opportunities.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Peter Bart, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026
Daniel’s commercial failure as a novelist impelled him to move to Los Angeles to try writing for the movies.
—David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025
While the recent protests were sparked by the social media ban, protesters said that they had been impelled by years of government corruption and failure to provide young people with economic opportunities.
—Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impelled
Verb
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But after a six-month probe into Yoon's decree, investigators led by another independent counsel, Cho Eun-suk, in December downplayed conjecture that Kim's troubles drove Yoon to declare martial law.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
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The round trip from Rockford — the site of the hospital where McKee worked — to Columbus is seven hours, meaning that McKee drove at least 14 hours during that 17 hour span, according to investigators' timeline.—
Chris Spargo,
PEOPLE,
28 Jan. 2026
Verb
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As the number of Palestinians killed by Israeli forces in the enclave spiralled, Ghanem and hundreds of other KCL students felt compelled to act.—
Sana Noor Haq,
CNN Money,
23 Jan. 2026
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As a result, Russian forces are compelled either to relocate these positions beyond the effective range of Ukrainian drones or to place them under the protection of counter-drone systems.—
Vikram Mittal,
Forbes.com,
22 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Since turning pro in 2023, he's moved quickly to 6-0, including a dominant stoppage of Hironori Mishiro in June 2025.—
Brian Mazique,
Forbes.com,
24 Jan. 2026
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Late last year, the city officials moved forward with their plan to sell the Bell Mobile and Florence Village Mobile Home Parks, which housed about 300 families.—
Matthew Rodriguez,
CBS News,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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With temperatures climbing above freezing and sunny skies melting half the structure, they were forced to start over entirely.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
14 Jan. 2026
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Twenty-two people — two civilians and 20 firefighters — were injured and thousands were forced to evacuate.—
Claire Wang,
Oc Register,
14 Jan. 2026
Verb
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His ascent was propelled by a sweeping anti-corruption campaign launched under his predecessor, Nguyen Phu Trong, which Lam oversaw as head of the powerful Ministry of Public Security.—
Aniruddha Ghosal,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Jan. 2026
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Byrne’s sheer charisma and talent has propelled this stressful indie from a premiere at last year’s Sundance all the way to the Oscars.—
Savannah Salazar,
Vulture,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The uncle alleged that the donations made by Yamagami’s mother, which by then totalled seven hundred thousand dollars, had been coerced.—
E. Tammy Kim,
New Yorker,
26 Jan. 2026
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Starks defended Porter by saying Andrews and other witnesses were coerced into giving their statements to police.—
Gregory Royal Pratt,
Chicago Tribune,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The Consulate activated its emergency protocols, the ministry stated.—
Christopher Cann,
USA Today,
28 Jan. 2026
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Where to find warming centers around Philadelphia Philadelphia has activated an Enhanced Code Blue due to the extremely cold temperatures.—
Bill Kelly,
CBS News,
27 Jan. 2026
Verb
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Marshall, like all the rest of them, was eventually let go for not knowing anything, but not before more time was wasted by detectives, who were obliged to interview most of these sideshows.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Jan. 2026
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Under federal law, the company was obliged to report the error and return the money.—
David Lyons,
Sun Sentinel,
20 Jan. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impelled. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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