impulse

Noun

• an impelling force or strength
  • the car's momentum carried it off the road
    

• the act of applying force suddenly
  • the impulse knocked him over
    

• (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients)
  • the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star
    

• the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber
  • they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus
    

• a sudden desire
  • he bought it on an impulse
    

• an instinctive motive
  • profound religious impulses
    

Related words

• Synonyms: 
  momentum , impulsion , impetus , pulsation , pulsing , pulse , nerve impulse , nervous impulse , neural impulse , caprice , whim , urge