impetuous

Synonym Chooser

How does the adjective impetuous contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of impetuous are abrupt, headlong, precipitate, and sudden. While all these words mean "showing undue haste or unexpectedness," impetuous stresses extreme impatience or impulsiveness.

an impetuous lover proposing marriage

When would abrupt be a good substitute for impetuous?

While in some cases nearly identical to impetuous, abrupt stresses curtness and a lack of warning or ceremony.

an abrupt refusal

When is headlong a more appropriate choice than impetuous?

In some situations, the words headlong and impetuous are roughly equivalent. However, headlong stresses rashness and lack of forethought.

a headlong flight from arrest

When can precipitate be used instead of impetuous?

The meanings of precipitate and impetuous largely overlap; however, precipitate stresses lack of due deliberation and implies prematureness of action.

the army's precipitate withdrawal

When could sudden be used to replace impetuous?

While the synonyms sudden and impetuous are close in meaning, sudden stresses unexpectedness and sharpness or violence of action.

flew into a sudden rage

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 impetuous Raiff’s impetuous outbursts serve his babyish college kid well, and the writer-director’s honest dialogue and empathetic perspective are even more valuable. Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025 On the one hand, there is the impetuous, often swaggering young writer whose sometimes brash, sometimes tender personality vividly emerges from the hundred-odd poems that have come down to us. Daniel Mendelsohn, New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2025 Sheinbaum must walk a fine line between her constituents, who don’t want to see Mexico humiliated — or go broke — and the unpredictable, impetuous Trump. Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024 There’s never been a more divisive, vindictive, cruel, illiterate, impetuous, rude bully than the former president. Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Oct. 2024 See All Example Sentences for impetuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impetuous
Adjective
  • Outfits that once felt aspirational quickly become irrelevant, leaving behind a cycle of impulsive purchases, lukewarm satisfaction, and the constant itch for reinvention.
    Jailynn Taylor, Essence, 8 July 2025
  • Back in 1937, Winfield James, Harry Caldwell and Jimmy Pickard — three impulsive teens from Abilene, just out of high school and trying to avoid summer jobs — paddled a small canoe some 660 miles down the Colorado from Ballinger, Texas, to the Gulf of Mexico.
    Michael Barnes, Austin American Statesman, 2 July 2025
Adjective
  • Fisherman core Sagittarius is adventurous and layered, both literally and figuratively.
    Meghan Rose, Glamour, 1 July 2025
  • Seeing Julian Klausner’s very first menswear collection for Dries Van Noten was a special moment — marking not just a new chapter for the house, but a thoughtful and adventurous continuation of its legacy.
    Rhonda Richford, Footwear News, 30 June 2025
Adjective
  • McClain’s fearless dive was part of a surge WPVC delivered after trailing 7-4 in Game 2.
    Buddy Collings, The Orlando Sentinel, 25 June 2025
  • The fifth book in the Meant To Be collection has everything that this fire sign thrives on: action, challenge and fearless ambition.
    Lizz Schumer, People.com, 24 June 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Impetuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuous. Accessed 13 Jul. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on impetuous

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