impelling 1 of 2

adjective

as in compelling

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impelling

2 of 2

verb

present participle of impel
1
as in driving
to set or keep in motion gasoline impels a car's engine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in forcing
to cause (a person) to give in to pressure I felt impelled to tell the truth, however painful it might be

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of impelling
Verb
This is a very forward-impelling perspective to come to. — Elizabeth Mata, Christian Science Monitor, 1 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impelling
  1. compelling
  2. driving
  3. forcing
  4. conspicuous
  5. moving
  6. coercing
  7. striking
  8. activating
Adjective
  • Drawing upon previously unpublished archival research, Merritt paints a compelling portrait of the multifaceted activist.
    — Suzanne Van Atten, AJC.com, 27 Sep. 2026
  • And her patients and the attention that this young doctor brought to her patients was so compelling to read despite the amount of time that had passed between us.
    — Robert Sullivan, Vogue, 26 Sep. 2026
Definition of compelling
Verb
  • Suppressing this same pathway produced the opposite result, limiting the ability to switch behavior, driving longer bouts of the repetitive behavior, as per the release.
    — Prabhat Ranjan Mishra, Interesting Engineering, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Prince William has remained silent ever since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle moved back to the UK, which is allegedly driving the Duchess of Sussex mad.
    — Allison DeGrushe, StyleCaster, 27 Sep. 2026
Definition of driving
Verb
  • Rather than forcing you to adapt to a permanently stitched grid of elastic loops, the M3 utilizes heavy-duty, modular pages.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 29 Sep. 2026
  • The wars caused massive destruction of religious and civic buildings, mills and mines, housing, crops, herds and transport infrastructure, damaging prosperity and forcing some people to move or starve.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of forcing
Adjective
  • Among the more obvious problems of both Ready to Wear and catwalk is the conspicuous absence of a story.
    — Charles Gandee, Vogue, 27 Sep. 2026
  • The result, beyond being a lie, is often cheap, garish, and conspicuous.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 23 Sep. 2026
Definition of conspicuous
Verb
  • The seconds-long loop consists of a purple image of a tank silhouette moving rapidly across the picture plane and patterned with what resemble dithered approximations of analog video interference.
    — Simon Denny, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • The planning is meant to create flexibility for the president and commanders overseeing the war, these people said, by moving up to three aircraft carriers and their escort ships into the region in November.
    — Dan Lamothe, Washington Post, 1 Oct. 2026
Definition of moving
Verb
  • Playing that cat, a work camp warden coercing Hawke’s character into smuggling gold through the wilderness, is none other than Russell Crowe.
    — Jack Smart, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
  • But in the past, these efforts were largely aimed at threatening or coercing Washington to act in their favor.
    — Dina Esfandiary, Foreign Affairs, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of coercing
Adjective
  • The most striking aspect of his work lies in its ability to make these activities converge.
    — Barry Schwabsky, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Perhaps the most striking styles in the lineup stood on curvaceous, sculptural heels resembling slithering snakes.
    — Jaden Thompson, Footwear News, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of striking
Verb
  • There's also an AI voice assistant for activating in-car features, and a mobile app for remote air conditioning management, charging status monitoring, and automatic parking.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 26 Sep. 2026
  • Hawaii officials told residents to put together emergency kits and the governor issued an emergency proclamation, activating more than 230 Hawaii National Guard members.
    — MEGAN JANETSKY, Arkansas Online, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of activating

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Cite this Entry

“Impelling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impelling. Accessed 2 Oct. 2026.

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