impel

Word family

im·pel /ɪmˈpel/ verb (impelled, impelling) [transitiveT] formal

MUSTif something impels you to do something, it makes you feel very strongly that you must do it 促使，驱使 → compel

impel somebody to do something

The lack of democracy and equality impelled the oppressed to fight for independence.

没有民主和平等的境况促使受压迫者为独立而战。

Examples from the Corpus

impel• The swinging mannered flights of the great stairway impelled an obedience to propriety.• Instead, another regrettable aspect of her personality impelled her to smile specially at this man.• What drives me, what impels me to be so disagreeable, my father has often asked me.• The data showed that information specialists' actions were often impelled not simply by material rewards or to avoid punishment.• The Soviet situation was seen as a major factor in impelling the two countries to seek their current reconciliation.• She had been impelled to go and find him because of the sudden silence from his burrow under the eaves.• The more one partner backs off, the more the other may be impelled to pursue.

impel somebody to do something• Children feel impelled to fit in at school.

Origin impel

(1400-1500) Latin impellere, from pellere “to drive”

Chinese

Syllable

Corpus