1
as in capriciousness
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2
as in impulsiveness
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Recent Examples of impetuosity
What few at the time foresaw was that the region could be delivered to China through Trump’s sheer impetuosity, or his inability to think before posting.
—
Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2025
Two centuries later, the Greek historian Polybius contrasted Roman discipline, order, and rationality with Celtic impetuosity, chaos, and passion on the battlefield.
—Michele Gelfand, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
His sacred vows didn’t stop Kelly from displaying the impetuosity that brands this city’s fans.
—Frank Fitzpatrick, Philly.com, 14 Apr. 2018
Regardless of whether fate led these men to board the train, Eastwood suggests that what drove them to act when faced with a crisis was their youthful impetuosity.
—Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, 9 Feb. 2018
Meeting his current expedition partner, Børge Ousland, required another stroke of youthful impetuosity.
—Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2017
Not to give too much away, but Alice’s romantic impetuosity in her youth has fateful consequences that only a show as sentimentally over the top as this could happily resolve.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 23 Oct. 2017
This president combines qualities of Shakespeare’s worst kings: the vanity of Lear, the impetuosity of Richard II, the maliciousness of Richard III.
—Paula Marantz Cohen, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2017
But, then again, that’s the sort of recipe favored by Donald Trump, a president who acts with impetuosity and has little time for strategy.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 31 July 2017
Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2025
Two centuries later, the Greek historian Polybius contrasted Roman discipline, order, and rationality with Celtic impetuosity, chaos, and passion on the battlefield.
—Michele Gelfand, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
His sacred vows didn’t stop Kelly from displaying the impetuosity that brands this city’s fans.
—Frank Fitzpatrick, Philly.com, 14 Apr. 2018
Regardless of whether fate led these men to board the train, Eastwood suggests that what drove them to act when faced with a crisis was their youthful impetuosity.
—Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, 9 Feb. 2018
Meeting his current expedition partner, Børge Ousland, required another stroke of youthful impetuosity.
—Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2017
Not to give too much away, but Alice’s romantic impetuosity in her youth has fateful consequences that only a show as sentimentally over the top as this could happily resolve.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 23 Oct. 2017
This president combines qualities of Shakespeare’s worst kings: the vanity of Lear, the impetuosity of Richard II, the maliciousness of Richard III.
—Paula Marantz Cohen, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2017
But, then again, that’s the sort of recipe favored by Donald Trump, a president who acts with impetuosity and has little time for strategy.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 31 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impetuosity
Noun
-
The president’s bombast and capriciousness have led many European countries to increase their defense spending—a positive outcome, to be sure, and not inherently at odds with the notion of a unified, geopolitical West.—
Stewart Patrick,
Foreign Affairs,
18 Sep. 2025
-
Fergus McCaffrey Jacobs’ collaboration with the capriciousness of nature is also rooted in the geometry of aeronautical navigation.—
Natasha Gural,
Forbes.com,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The synergy between Scorpio’s intensity and Aries’ impulsiveness can spark drama, but also breakthroughs, specifically in relationships or collaborations where unspoken truths have been building.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
His audacity and her rashness might surprise some.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
-
At other times, the result can be both immediate and devastating, as seen in many traffic accidents caused by impatience, inattentiveness, or rashness.—
Mary Crossan,
Forbes.com,
16 Aug. 2025
Noun
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How prevalence is determined Clinicians diagnose ADHD based on symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity.—
Carol Mathews,
The Conversation,
15 Oct. 2025
-
The 2015 study highlights that this kind of interpersonal volatility arises from broader patterns of personality traits, such as impulsivity or difficulty managing social interactions.—
Mark Travers,
Forbes.com,
13 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Over that time his work neatly evaded the whims and caprices of fashion, achieving a kind of timelessness and clarity of purpose.—
Anna Wintour,
Vogue,
5 Sep. 2025
-
The caprice of the wind was the only reason there was evidence to recover in the first place.—
Henry Leutwyler Robert Petkoff Emma Kehlbeck Quinton Kamara,
New York Times,
20 May 2025
Noun
-
This rapidity of implementation means that attorneys cannot wait to see how things might develop but must start preparing, or at least learning about it, now.—
Jay Adkisson,
Forbes.com,
18 Aug. 2025
-
The rapidity and the terseness of the onscreen action leaps from scene to scene, from event to event, from one salient point to the next, with nothing incidental in between, nothing revealing anything besides what directly elucidates the story as Polanski chooses to tell it.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
14 Aug. 2025
Noun
-
But the whimsy gave way pretty quickly.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
14 Oct. 2025
-
Where to Eat in Anoka The Mad Hatter Enjoy a bit of whimsy on your trip to Anoka by booking an afternoon tea at The Mad Hatter.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Or at least have the option of several lives other than their own not being governed by the vagaries of the football industry?—
Nick Miller,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
-
Owning and running the restaurant also meant caring for the vast, aging Foster’s collection while managing the vagaries of heat, cold, humidity and stovetop.—
Darrell Smith,
Sacbee.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impetuosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuosity. Accessed 18 Oct. 2025.
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