impetuous
Americanadjective
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liable to act without consideration; rash; impulsive
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resulting from or characterized by rashness or haste
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poetic moving with great force or violence; rushing
the impetuous stream hurtled down the valley
Related Words
Impetuous, impulsive both refer to persons who are hasty and precipitate in action, or to actions not preceded by thought. Impetuous suggests eagerness, violence, rashness: impetuous vivacity; impetuous desire; impetuous words. Impulsive emphasizes spontaneity and lack of reflection: an impulsive act of generosity.
Other Word Forms
- impetuously adverb
- impetuousness noun
Etymology
Origin of impetuous
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Late Latin impetuōsus, equivalent to Latin impetu(s) “an attack” + -ōsus adjective suffix; impetus, -ous
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Even here, though, “Resurrection” drills down into something unbearably moving, turning the century’s end into an apocalyptic occurrence, the future perilously uncertain for these impetuous lovers.
From Los Angeles Times
He distanced himself from his impetuous comments of recent weeks, when he described his season with Ferrari as "a nightmare" and said he was not looking forward to 2026.
From Barron's
Dutiful Meg paradoxically longs for leisure and fashionable clothes; impetuous Jo yearns for literary fame; shy, music-loving Beth wishes only for everyone to be happy; artistic Amy craves admiration and status.
“The babies’ breathing,” he writes, “was impetuous, nervous, uneven, but the mothers’ slow worldly sighs, forceful and vaguely wise, got to me, straight to the heart.”
Their work has been seen as reflecting their vastly different personas—Manet the dashing, witty, impetuous flâneur; Morisot the reserved, intelligent and exceedingly decorous bourgeoise—through the lens of their separate worlds.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
