impel
verb (used with object)
to drive or urge forward; press on; incite or constrain to action.
have impelled
-
present perfectof impel.present perfect
Used to describe actions that started in the past and continue into or have direct relevance to the present.
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.
Reductions in federal subsidies have impelled universities to cut Ph.D. admissions in programs that enroll few undergraduates, meaning there’s less demand for graduate student labor.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
Vitale—the plaintiffs and the defendant were from New Hyde Park, right on the other side of Stewart Manor’s main street—seems unlikely to have impelled my letter.
From The New Yorker ● May 15, 2017
You will see in a few days a declaration setting forth the causes which have impelled us to this mighty revolution and the reasons which will justify it in the sight of God and man.
From US News ● Jul. 4, 2014
Anything more than a 15% devaluation, the British were warned in the delicate, secret negotiations that preceded it, would have impelled France, Belgium and The Netherlands to mark down their money in retaliation.
From Time Magazine Archive
Nothing was wanting to shew the importance attached by the British to this latest deserter and the causes believed by them to have impelled him to his course.
From Legends of Loudoun An account of the history and homes of a border county of Virginia's Northern Neck by Harrison Williams
