IMPELLED Synonyms: 80 Similar and Opposite Words

impelled

verb

past tense of impel

as in drove

to set or keep in motion gasoline impels a car's engine

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in compelled

to cause (a person) to give in to pressure I felt impelled to tell the truth, however painful it might be

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of impelled Some fifteen years later, her determination to study Schubert lieder with expert teachers was in large part what impelled her to go to Europe. — Literary Hub, 10 Sep. 2026 Despite the challenges, many candidates are impelled by the desire to steer political discourse toward civility and issues that matter most to ordinary citizens. — The Christian Science Monitor, Christian Science Monitor, 27 Aug. 2026 His experience impelled him to join an informal yet determined community of researchers, doctors, and patients pushing for extra studies to help patients and doctors find the right dosage for an array of cancer drugs. — CNN Money, 19 Aug. 2026 Sometimes the ideological passions that impelled a work into existence dissolve over time, leaving behind something that can be appreciated as art. — Vivian Yee, New York Times, 20 June 2026 That emotional closeness was one of the driving forces that impelled me to bring this project to the screen in an exercise of deep respect for a complex memory that does not lend itself to simplification. — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 19 June 2026 Both were impelled to launch ninth-inning pushes to persuade Oscar voters that Shakespeare wasn’t really in love and Private Ryan needed serious saving. — Peter Bart, Deadline, 8 Jan. 2026 Daniel’s commercial failure as a novelist impelled him to move to Los Angeles to try writing for the movies. — David Kamp, New Yorker, 4 Oct. 2025 While the recent protests were sparked by the social media ban, protesters said that they had been impelled by years of government corruption and failure to provide young people with economic opportunities. — Alia Shoaib, MSNBC Newsweek, 12 Sep. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for impelled

Verb

The homeowner didn’t charge him rent, and the truck Buchanan drove was a gift, the woman told agents.

— Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026
An Australian data center operator’s profit warning drove its stock down as much as 44%, while dozens of large facilities have been blocked or delayed in the US this year by opposition from locals.

— Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of drove

Verb

Doncic said there has always been something in him that compelled him to establish connections with fans.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
From the classic ‘Whodunit’ style to thrilling neonoirs, mystery novels have compelled readers to solve cases alongside detectives like Hercule Poirot.

— Theara Coleman, TheWeek, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of compelled

Verb

Deloitte found only 25% of organizations have moved 40% or more of their AI pilots into production.

— Chris Koehler, Fortune, 23 Oct. 2026
Trees fell onto homes and utility poles were knocked down by a possible tornado in a central Arizona community during a series of violent storms that moved through the state overnight into Thursday.

— Wufei Yu, Los Angeles Times, 22 Oct. 2026

Definition of moved

Verb

Earlier this fall, a deadlocked jury in the Lindsay Clancy murder case forced the judge to declare a mistrial.

— Anja Aronowsky Cronberg, New Yorker, 24 Oct. 2026
CoreWeave, the biggest of the group, has seen the spread on its credit default swaps soar past 11%, as investors are forced to pay up for insurance against default.

— Kif Leswing,Isabel O'Brien, CNBC, 24 Oct. 2026

Definition of forced

Verb

This idea, also fueled by the president’s unproven assertion that the 2020 election was stolen from him, has propelled numerous efforts to require proof of citizenship or identity at the polls or when registering to vote.

— Sharon Bernstein, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2026
The same forces that propelled me to write to him were also what drew me to Latin American literature.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of propelled

Verb

Her confession to murdering her 2-year-old daughter was coerced, and the district attorney who prosecuted her case was later convicted of bribery, extortion and other crimes.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
Terry Kay liked to tell the story of how he was coerced into writing his first novel by Pat Conroy, who told his literary agent Kay had written a brilliant manuscript.

— Suzanne Van Atten, AJC.com, 18 Oct. 2026

Definition of coerced

Verb

Two letters redirect actions MuTRAP is a backdoor attack, also known as a Trojan attack, in which malicious behavior is embedded in a model and activated only when a specific trigger appears.

— Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
Officers then activated their emergency lights and pulled over Licona Amador's truck, prosecutors said.

— Michael Sinkewicz, FOXNews.com, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of activated

Verb

Returning to the table, Walzer said that a legal scholar had recently used the jus ex bello doctrine in an op-ed to argue that the war had become so costly to Ukrainians that their government was now obliged to make concessions to stop the fighting.

— Jordi Graupera, New Yorker, 22 Oct. 2026
That should come as no surprise; NASA is, after all, part of the executive branch, and the agency is obliged to abide by executive orders.

— Josh Dinner, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026

Definition of obliged

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“Impelled.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impelled. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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