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

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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 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
  • Under the proposal, a commuter who drives on I-90 from Barrington to work downtown and back 50 weeks a year would be charged $950 in 2027, up from $600 this year.
    — Marni Pyke, Chicago Tribune, 7 Aug. 2026
  • That Treasury bond specifically drives the direction of consumer lending rates, such as for mortgages, credit cards and personal loans.
    — Steve Kopack, NBC news, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of drives
Verb
  • Frank’s ruling keeps the proposal to raise the homestead exemption up to $250,000 for Florida property owners on the ballot, but compels Attorney General James Uthmeier to rewrite parts of the plan.
    — Romy Ellenbogen Herald, Miami Herald, 4 Aug. 2026
  • The competitive pressure to achieve maximal adoption compels a convergence toward openness.
    — Gerui Wang, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026
Definition of compels
Verb
  • Pitch a idea for a team huddle, and let your expressive style set a cooperative tone that moves decisions forward.
    — Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 Aug. 2026
  • The judge’s order paused the rollout of the surcharge on high-value second homes in the city while a lawsuit brought by a group of homeowners moves forward.
    — Katherine Koretski, CNN Money, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of moves
Verb
  • When a storm forces them to stay indoors, old wounds and hidden fears come to the surface, exposing their struggle to connect.
    — Marta Balaga, Variety, 7 Aug. 2026
  • With minor candidates on the ballot, there's a scenario where Colom pulls an upset or at least forces a runoff.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Aug. 2026
Definition of forces
Verb
  • Tirzepatide, sold as Zepbound and Mounjaro, activates GLP-1 and GIP (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide).
    — Emily Cegielski, Flow Space, 6 Aug. 2026
  • The Marine Rain Massage is an immersive treatment that releases muscle tension, calms the nervous system, and activates circulation.
    — Rana Good, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Aug. 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
  • That’s not to say the government needs proof to exercise autonomy over what to do with our bodies, but perhaps there was a more nefarious plot at play when the ban that propels One Night Only came into being.
    — Fran Hoepfner, Vulture, 7 Aug. 2026
  • While scoping out the attraction, the little fox ended up slipping into the waterway that propels the ride, leaving the animal treading water while rafts full of concerned parkgoers passed by.
    — Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of propels
Verb
  • Zeus’s Law obligates Telemachus and Odysseus’s wife Penelope to host the suitors who hope to marry her in Odysseus’s absence.
    — Natasha O'Neill, Vanity Fair, 16 July 2026
  • The Montreux Convention obligates Turkey to allow commercial ships freedom of passage, but allows the country to charge for some specific things, including sanitary, pilotage, towage and lighthouse services.
    — Joanne Stocker, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of obligates

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Cite this Entry

“Impels.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impels. Accessed 12 Aug. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of impels for Spanish Speakers

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