impel
verb (used with object)
to drive or urge forward; press on; incite or constrain to action.
were impelling
-
past progressiveof impel.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Was there not a difference which prevented him from comprehending the motives which, for her, were impelling?
From A Daughter of the Snows by Jack London
All her life long Audrey never forgot the strange chill sensation that came over her as she read that note; it was as though some dim, overmastering force were impelling her against her own will.
From Lover or Friend by Rosa Nouchette Carey
Almost every institution or pursuit by which virtuous habits would naturally have been formed had been tainted or destroyed, while agencies of terrific power were impelling the people to vice.
From History of European Morals From Augustus to Charlemagne (Vol. 1 of 2) by William Edward Hartpole Lecky
Tradition, copious imbibing of the precepts of bishops, were impelling her towards that action frequently fatal to the permanent peace of families, the making of a clean breast.
From The Pastor's Wife by Elizabeth von Arnim
Many influences were impelling him to this decision.
From The Age of Big Business; a chronicle of the captains of industry by Burton Jesse Hendrick
