impetus

American  

[im-pi-tuhs] / ˈɪm pɪ təs /

noun

• impetuses
  plural

1. a moving force; impulse; stimulus.

   The grant for building the opera house gave impetus to the city's cultural life.

   Synonyms:

   boost, spur, stimulation

2. (broadly) the momentum of a moving body, especially with reference to the cause of motion.

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impetus British  

/ ˈɪmpɪtəs /

noun

1. an impelling movement or force; incentive or impulse; stimulus

2. physics the force that sets a body in motion or that tends to resist changes in a body's motion

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• impetuses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of impetus

First recorded in 1650–60; from Latin: “an attack,” literally, “a rushing into,” perhaps by haplology from unattested impetitus (though the expected form would be unattested impetītus; see appetite), equivalent to impetī-, variant stem of impetere “to attack” ( im- im- ¹ + petere “to make for, assault”) + -tus suffix of verb action

Explanation

An impetus is the force behind something, whether it's a boulder rolling down a hill or a person making a decision. Very little would get done if there were no such thing as an impetus: an impetus is some kind of force that gets something or somebody moving. If you push a car that's out of gas, you're the impetus that's getting it moving. An impetus doesn't have to be physical. Advertisers hope their commercials will be an impetus to buy the product.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

impetus impetuses

The Liuzzo family was harassed for their mother’s activism even after her death, but the event galvanized activists all over the country, becoming one impetus for Congress to finally pass the landmark 1965 legislation.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Much of the impetus for the continued ascent of Korean stocks came from heavy participation of domestic retail investors — better known as “ants’”— many of whom were using leverage to gain exposure.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026

Phil Salt's 70 from 44 deliveries underpinned England's 201-7, Sam Curran providing late impetus with an unbeaten 41 off 24 balls.

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026

Some of the impetus behind her bill revolved around the June 2 Fresno City Council election.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Perhaps Fine’s monograph gave impetus to the press; whenever they did chess stories, reporters would look for a certain amount of aberration among the players.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

One of the big impetuses for this is I felt like the kids are the experts.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 30, 2024

“That was one of the impetuses for starting this film.”

From New York Times ● Nov. 16, 2022

“If the desire to repair self-worth is one of the impetuses for status consumption, then providing individuals alternate means to restore their self-worth should alleviate this need,” the researchers concluded.

From Washington Post ● Jun. 18, 2019

Now this “half a kid” has a kid, and has said one of the impetuses for “Can’t Stop” was to write music his son could listen to.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 29, 2016

The result is output far exceeding what is usually possible under Traditional Management, because drawbacks are removed and impetuses added.

From The Psychology of Management The Function of the Mind in Determining, Teaching and Installing Methods of Least Waste by Lillian Moller Gilbreth

Related Words

• catalyst
• impulse
• incentive
• momentum
• motivation
• stimulant