impels

verb

present tense third-person singular of impel
1
as in drives
to set or keep in motion gasoline impels a car's engine

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in compels
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

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 impels Walking through it, which the work impels one to do, shows that the six sections of Shift afford a sequence of passages down into and across the terrain. — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026 And so, our mission – grounded in both truth and love – impels us to discern the motives that shape events, and the shifts in thought that drive human progress through higher ideals of justice, mercy, and wisdom. — Christa Case Bryant, Christian Science Monitor, 3 Mar. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impels
  1. drives
  2. compels
  3. moves
  4. forces
  5. activates
  6. coerces
  7. propels
  8. obligates
Verb
  • Lucy’s behavior may be frustratingly inconsistent, but many viewers will recognize the immeasurable suffering that drives it.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Additive manufacturing drives development A major part of Beehive’s development strategy involves additive manufacturing.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of drives
Verb
  • Not the kind of empathy that simply allows someone to understand another person’s struggles, but the kind that compels them to do something about it.
    — Chris Gardner, HollywoodReporter, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Here, Hendrikx plays anthropologist to a culture that compels each of us—whether a rider or not—to find our own vehicle for fulfillment, then take it to redline.
    — Viju Mathew, Robb Report, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • As part of its process, the powered gimbal moves the image around in the general direction the projector's already facing, stopping the movement several times in the process before continuing, and adjusting the image size several times as well.
    — M. David Stone, PC Magazine, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Flight testing moves forward L3Harris has reached the second phase of the Army’s Xtended Range Counter-sUAS Missile program.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of moves
Verb
  • This question forces founders out of product-speak and into real-world consequences.
    — Olivia Ludington, Forbes.com, 30 Oct. 2026
  • An unexpected turn of events forces him to choose between those ambitions and temptation that could change his future.
    — Essie Assibu, Variety, 30 Oct. 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • The agency rejected the recommendation, saying that using cameras that automatically activate when an officer pulls their weapon or activates a car siren could risk privacy concerns.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 Oct. 2026
  • And a few are very highly specific, such as the protease that activates insulin, which only cuts near a very specific series of amino acids.
    — ArsTechnica, ArsTechnica, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of activates
Verb
  • However, the rotation of this filament clearly dominates how the galaxies within it spin, perhaps by funneling hydrogen gas along the dark-matter filament and onto the galaxies in a way that coerces their spin while providing further fuel for star formation.
    — Keith Cooper, Space.com, 4 Dec. 2025
  • Haunted by the suspicious death of his ailing mother, Ali, a university professor, coerces his enigmatic gardener to execute a cold-blooded act of vengeance.
    — Jill Goldsmith, Deadline, 14 Nov. 2025
Definition of coerces
Verb
  • Here, only one actuator is activated, creating an asymmetric movement that propels the robot forward or backward.
    — Maryna Holovnova, New Atlas, 25 Oct. 2026
  • The director, Sanchez, deftly leads the effort with invisible but subtly effective staging, ensuring that the family banter propels the flow.
    — Bill Hirschman, Sun Sentinel, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of propels
Verb
  • Being a Zionist no more obligates us to support every Israeli policy than being an American patriot requires supporting every policy of our government.
    — Scott Levin, Denver Post, 18 Sep. 2026
  • City staff told commissioners that the development agreement obligates the developer to build a bridge.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 16 Sep. 2026
Definition of obligates

Browse Nearby Words

impelling
impels
impend
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Impels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impels. Accessed 5 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of effrontery

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

Ten More Words from Taylor Swift Songs

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
couple-laugh-cafe
Quiz: Foreign Phrases You Should Know Check out your bona fides and avoid any faux pas.
See All