dynamic
toggle menu
menu
vocabulary
1000+ books

impulsive
in a sentence

show 189 more with this conextual meaning
  • What really scares me is what they might do to my mother and Prim, how my family might suffer now because of my impulsiveness.†   (source)
  • A clerk walked by and impulsively, she pointed to the miniature pinata.†   (source)
  • Not wanting her to think I was some shallow idiot, I impulsively blurted out what I'd always dreamed of doing if I won.†   (source)
  • He'd held his temper—he hadn't done anything too impulsive or irrational.†   (source)
  • He could be extremely responsible, but he had a tendency to wing it sometimes, to act impulsively, to get by on bravado and style.†   (source)
  • A friend would remember her as "different"—passionate and impulsive.†   (source)
  • Pout was thoughtful, sober, and cautious, Finch, a study in earnest impulsiveness.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I get up on my tiptoes and kiss him on the cheek, and he jerks back in surprise.†   (source)
  • The earthquake did, however, make her rethink her impulsive burst of generosity.†   (source)
  • But it had been the Count's experience that men prone to pace are always on the verge of acting impulsively.†   (source)
  • Brash, aggressive, impulsive.†   (source)
  • As it was passing by yet again, I impulsively dropped my hand into the water and grabbed it just ahead of the tail, where its body was thinnest.†   (source)
  • Panic over the impending crime wave expected from these "radically impulsive, brutally remorseless" children led nearly every state to enact legislation that increased the exposure of children to adult prosecution.†   (source)
  • Maybe it's impulsive of me to think I could be so sure, but I'm certain I would be happy with you.†   (source)
  • On this day, impulsively, I fell in alongside her.†   (source)
  • Tall and narrow with the staircase spiraling up its center like a spire shell stood on end, where the ghost of his brother occasionally slipped between walls, where Madame Manec lived and died, where not so long ago he could sit on a davenport with Marie-Laure and pretend they flew over the volcanoes of Hawaii, over the cloud forests of Peru, where just a week ago she sat cross-legged on the floor and read to him about a pearl fishery off the coast of Ceylon, Captain Nemo and Aronnax in their diving suits, the impulsive Canadian Ned Land about to hurl his harpoon through the side of a shark ...All of it is burning.†   (source)
  • Yes, it was freshly evident that he had impulsively betrayed himself by handing over the farm.†   (source)
  • Adoption is an enormous decision, and not likely to happen impulsively.†   (source)
  • Here he pulled in impulsively, because he was not ready to do what was required, and with the engine of Abel's Dodge idling in neutral he popped the last stick of Juicy Fruit between his teeth and looked down the road toward the Heines'.†   (source)
  • "Quite uncharacteristic," she said, "but impulsive and sincere.†   (source)
  • They were cheering from impulsive joy, the same kind of joy he felt every day of his life as he pondered the Almighty.†   (source)
  • Lysa is impulsive, yes, but this message was carefully planned, cleverly hidden.†   (source)
  • This is the impulsive epicenter of the brain-the one that houses feelings like fear and anger and gut instinct.†   (source)
  • To slam the door impulsively on the past, to shed everything down to my last bit of clothing, to break the pattern of my life—that complex design I had been weaving since birth with all its dark threads, its unexplainable symbols set against a conventional background of domestic white and schoolboy blue, all those tangled strands which required the dexterity of a virtuoso to keep flowing—I yearned to take giant military shears to it, snap!†   (source)
  • She had heard her mother criticize the impulsive behavior of her younger sister Hermione, and lament the situation of the three children, and denounce her meek, evasive brother-in-law Cecil who had fled to the safety of All Souls College, Oxford.†   (source)
  • Impulsively she grabs my hand, squeezes it, as we lurch around the corner; she turns to me and Isee her face, there are tears running down her cheeks, but tears of what?†   (source)
  • Maybe it hadn't meant anything to her, had been nothing more than another grand impulsivity.†   (source)
  • It was as if all her inner joy, which had nearly been extinguished, had suddenly been rekindled by Pedro's warm breath upon her neck, the hot touch of his hands upon her back, his chest pressed impulsively against her breasts...She could have stayed in his arms forever, but a look from her mother made her pull away in a hurry.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I stepped in front of the line, within two steps of a German guard.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I slipped out of bed and, without even putting on my slippers, tiptoed over to Mom's bed.†   (source)
  • We often made foolish decisions, sometimes got involved in dangerous situations, and frequently suffered the consequences of impulsive behavior.†   (source)
  • I don't bet impulsively.†   (source)
  • He kicked himself for acting so impulsively.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, he broke a dead branch with his foot.†   (source)
  • Gogol watches them, knowing that it's all in jest—they're not the type to do something so impulsive, so naive, to blunder, as his own parents had done.†   (source)
  • The impulsive actor had to tell someone of his achievement or he would burst!†   (source)
  • Siri was twenty-six, seven years older than I during that First Reunion, but her impulsive behavior often reminded me of the teen-aged Siri I had carried away from the Festival only ten of my months earlier.†   (source)
  • She gave Alberto an impulsive hug.†   (source)
  • You're impulsive.†   (source)
  • Her brother was both impulsive and reckless, but to be fair, she thought, he was also loyal and trustworthy.†   (source)
  • "I'll come back the next time he's away," I promised impulsively.†   (source)
  • "I want to meet them," the president said impulsively.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I give her a quick kiss on the forehead to remind her that it's just me, her favorite patient, her daughter.†   (source)
  • They tend to be impulsive, particularly in activities that are potentially self damaging, such as shopping sprees, psychoactive substance abuse, reckless driving, casual sex, shoplifting, and binge eating.†   (source)
  • He lacked the impulsive character of his fiancee and he considered respect for one's given word as a wealth that should not be squandered.†   (source)
  • When I seduced you last winter it was an idiotic, impulsive act.†   (source)
  • The other time she'd felt this way, deciding to bring Bella home, she'd been impulsive, like someone tossing a coin into the air, letting chance determine her fate.†   (source)
  • I am practical and circumspect; he is impulsive and direct.†   (source)
  • Donna had impulsively snatched up Tad and retreated toward the hood of the jag, but Tad was struggling impatiently in her arms, trying to get down.†   (source)
  • His showed a balanced, honest nature, while Areida used to say mine proved me imaginative, impulsive, and always in a hurry.†   (source)
  • "Em," I say impulsively.†   (source)
  • The quintessential hard-core smoker, according to Eysenck, is an extrovert, the kind of person who is sociable, likes parties, has many friends, needs to have people to talk to.... He craves excitement, takes chances, acts on the spur of the moment and is generally an impulsive individual.... He prefers to keep moving and doing things, tends to be aggressive and loses his temper quickly; his feelings are not kept under tight control and he is not always a reliable person.†   (source)
  • I lean over impulsively and kiss her cheek.†   (source)
  • And Ferula, too busy in caring for the child, who had formidable lungs, an impulsive nature, and a voracious appetite, had no time to say the rosary in the slums or attend confession with Father Antonio, much less to peek through the half-open door.†   (source)
  • To make such a climb required both strength and planning, so the Prince made those marks in his brain: my enemy is strong, my enemy is not impulsive.†   (source)
  • Streets thick with the details of impulsive life as the hero ponders the latest phase in his dying.†   (source)
  • "Come to dinner," she suggested impulsively, inspired by Howard's kindness to Paul.†   (source)
  • Another point of contention was his tendency to buy things impulsively—a motorcycle, a sailboat.†   (source)
  • Regardless of the billions spent on marketing and promotion, all the ads on radio and TV, all the efforts to create brand loyalty, the major chains must live with the unsettling fact that more than 70 percent of fast food visits are "impulsive."†   (source)
  • Jake asked impulsively as his shoulders sagged.†   (source)
  • You're stubborn and impulsive and a little hyper, so your parents enrolled you in something to help with your coordination and concentration, like ballet or karate, probably karate.†   (source)
  • He is a person who is impulsive in action, likely to do things without thought of consequences or future discomfort to himself or to others.†   (source)
  • His foreign antics are becoming legendary, particularly his impulsive habit of halting motorcades so he can jump out of his personal convertible limousine and into crowds to press the flesh.†   (source)
  • He told me not to be impulsive and think it over, but I shan't stay.†   (source)
  • Not only had no other customers come in while he'd been buying his roses and impulsive tulips, but there was no one on the sidewalks, no cars creeping cautiously toward the curb in front of the Flower Pot.†   (source)
  • "Hi there," Barbara says impulsively, delighted to see a black girl.†   (source)
  • With a sudden, impulsive movement, and somewhat to Cassy's surprise, Johnnie followed into the pantry, seized the proffered cap and apron and proceeded to put them on.†   (source)
  • I had married impulsively, right out of high school, and found myself in a loveless union that ended in an extended, difficult divorce.†   (source)
  • Prusias is too arrogant and impulsive to realize that his display of power was bound to raise questions at Rowan and beyond.†   (source)
  • He greeted Milo jovially each time they met and, in an excess of contrite generosity, impulsively recommended Major Major for promotion.†   (source)
  • They married impulsively, while Dempsey, then serving in the army, was on leave from Fort Riley, Kansas, on a three-day pass.†   (source)
  • But as Franklin was boarding his train, J.B. shouted impulsively, "Hey, Franklin, I'll just ride along with you."†   (source)
  • He impulsively grabbed it, jumped to his feet, and ran for the light switch by the door.†   (source)
  • How was he to account for so many impulsive, tactless, ill-considered things he had said down the years?†   (source)
  • Also, it was the nature of a man born under the sign of the tiger to be fiery, spirited, and impulsive.†   (source)
  • I moved impulsively, forgetting my disguise until almost upon him, then checked myself and put my disguise once more to a test.†   (source)
  • Burton and Stone were different: where Stone was organized, Burton was sloppy; where Stone was controlled, Burton was impulsive; where Stone was confident, Burton was nervous, jumpy, petulant.†   (source)
  • I'm an impulsive person.†   (source)
  • Not the thing you ached to do, not the impulsive act, but the thing that would pay off later.†   (source)
  • Drizzt had returned to the rock shortly after Wulfgar but had remained hidden, watching the barbarian to see if the impulsive young warrior would trust in their pact or decide to take matters into his own hands.†   (source)
  • Cicely could be stubborn, and certainly strong willed, but she was rarely impulsive and never foolish.†   (source)
  • The soldiers in the cortile froze where they stood, hoping that Euridice's impulsiveness would be his guardian, but just before his hand would have swept the ball back down the grassy slope, his head snapped back and he tumbled down the incline.†   (source)
  • Impulsively Clary leaned up and kissed his cheek.†   (source)
  • John Sampson was more impulsive.†   (source)
  • He had never been impulsive, like Hill; there was even at this moment something grave and perplexed about him, a studious bewilderment.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, I jumped up and grabbed Misty by the arm, the cotton still between my toes.†   (source)
  • But as the silence mounted, he impulsively described another smart guy who didn't get an offer at all.†   (source)
  • The Irish always impulsively jump to conclusions.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, I extended my hand.†   (source)
  • In a flowered silk robe she threw herself impulsively around me.†   (source)
  • The girl leaned forward impulsively and touched her hand.†   (source)
  • Impulsively she kicked off her sandals, pulled her frock over her head, stepped out of her panties and ran naked down to the water.†   (source)
  • He leans over and kisses her cheek impulsively-then turning back adds with a constrained air.†   (source)
  • Impulsively she dragged the tub inside.†   (source)
  • For a long time after his discharge he would raise his arm impulsively whenever an officer came in sight, and often he imagined epaulettes where there were none.†   (source)
  • Impulsively he touched her arm.†   (source)
  • letting him borrow her car was an impulsive act that she immediately regretted
    impulsive = action taken without forethought
  • He is young and impulsive.
  • "Tom doesn't love her," he said impulsively.†   (source)
  • I've really missed you, Jake," I admitted impulsively.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, I lean forward and kiss him, stopping his words.†   (source)
  • Eragon examined the great gem under his feet and impulsively lay down on it.†   (source)
  • One night, in a taxi stuck in midtown traffic, she had impulsively asked him to marry her.†   (source)
  • Don't tell her I've been," I said impulsively; and then: "Did you, er —?"†   (source)
  • Impulsively, he drew upon the magic and uttered the words.†   (source)
  • "THAT UPSET YOU," I said impulsively when we were leaving the theater.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, he pulled into a gas station.†   (source)
  • Her gaze didn't waver, and impulsively she reached out, touching his arm.†   (source)
  • These words cannot be delivered impulsively.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, he kissed her on the cheek.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, Eragon put his hand on hers.†   (source)
  • The last thing he should do was react impulsively to whatever greeted him beyond that door.†   (source)
  • Impulsively Clary bent down and kissed his forehead.†   (source)
  • He said nothing, and Ronnie impulsively leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I lunged, falling into the base.†   (source)
  • Well...I guess I acted impulsively today.†   (source)
  • He'd gone for it impulsively, pushed by an inordinate desire to show his strength and skill.†   (source)
  • Impulsively Clary leaned in to kiss him.†   (source)
  • Lee said abruptly, impulsively, "I cannot imagine what's become of Stuart.†   (source)
  • The chaplain stepped forward impulsively to remonstrate.†   (source)
  • Yossarian yelled, and bounded forward impulsively to intercept him.†   (source)
  • Markous impulsively splashed some of the fluid on his jacket, his hands, rubbed his face.†   (source)
  • He bent forward impulsively with awkward solicitude.†   (source)
  • She impulsively brought the pouch to her lips and sipped the sweet green water.†   (source)
  • She impulsively puts her arm around him.†   (source)
  • He puts an arm around his father impulsively and gives him an affectionate hug.†   (source)
  • EDMUND Turns impulsively and grabs her arm.†   (source)
  • A few citizens in the gallery—including Ishmael Chambers—turned impulsively to look at her, but she made no move to acknowledge them.†   (source)
  • Impulsively I showed him the empty tin of biscuits in which I hoarded my savings from the detergent route.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, she threw her arms around Mr. Corrigan's shoulders, hugging him as she'd once tried to hug her own father, as she'd never been able to hug her mother.†   (source)
  • And then, impulsively, admitting it for the first time: "I'm saying I don't want to raise Gogol alone in this country.†   (source)
  • Look, I am sorry!" he said impulsively when I didn't answer, running his hand through his rumpled hair.†   (source)
  • Though these thieves acted impulsively and have no prior criminal records, their inexperience will not deter us from prosecuting this case to the letter of the law.†   (source)
  • five?) of my dad's old sports pages, then — impulsively, really getting into it in my own stoned, determined way—wound it around and around with tape until not a shred of newsprint was visible and the entire X-tra large roll of tape was gone.†   (source)
  • She'd made the decision impulsively, just now, motivated by spite as much as by what Thomas might offer her.†   (source)
  • The state box, where the Lincolns and Grants will sit this evening, is almost on the stage itself—so close that if Lincoln were to impulsively rise from his rocking chair and leap down into the actors' midst, the distance traveled would be a mere nine feet.†   (source)
  • Alessandro impulsively wrote his name, the dates of his assignment, and his comment, for he did not want to spend a month trying to distill the wisdom of the ages into one line.†   (source)
  • Theresa began to write him one, but he waved his hand at her to stop; and when she didn't see him, he impulsively picked her pen out of her hand.†   (source)
  • Mortenson asked, impulsively.†   (source)
  • At the landing I saw a bucket half full of kerosene and seized it, flinging it impulsively into a burning room.†   (source)
  • Impulsively, Norah leaned down and picked up the baby, Kay's second daughter, dressed in frothy pink to match her sister.†   (source)
  • Just moments earlier he had been so enthralled with the happy crowd in front of Ford's that he had impulsively grabbed a pad and begun drawing—"women with wide skirts and wearing large poke bonnets were as numerous as the men....The scene was so unusual and inspiring."†   (source)
  • Look," he burst out impulsively.†   (source)
  • I felt her breathing hot against me and pushed her gently away, steadying her against the door frame, then went over as impulsively as the remembered prayer, and got the brief case, brushing the dust against my leg and feeling the unexpected weight as I hugged it beneath my arm.†   (source)
  • The thought impulsively struck me that it might be interesting to compare the drawings they made of themselves with the ones they made of me.†   (source)
  • It was obvious that Frank and Oscar still carried scars from that particular day in the woods—Oscar impulsively holding his left arm, Frank staring at his pencil, both of them thinking about the blood and pain.†   (source)
  • She was artistic, unpredictable, impulsive, and rule-averse—all qualities I dearly admired.†   (source)
  • Sometimes when you're upset, you tend to be impulsive.†   (source)
  • What I did next was so impulsive and dangerous I should've been named ADHD poster child of the year.†   (source)
  • The impulsive Aureliano Triste did not need such proof to proceed.†   (source)
  • "Unless she was feeling particularly impulsive," Takumi said.†   (source)
  • Holly was giving and kindhearted, impulsive, affectionate, warm.†   (source)
  • When he pressed his lips to hers, it was an impulsive, longing kiss filled with thankfulness.†   (source)
  • Maybe she understood the thoughtless, impulsive behavior of kids more than I knew.†   (source)
  • And from the sound of things, she was feeling rather impulsive that night.†   (source)
  • He's a small-town banker, he's not allowed to do impulsive things.†   (source)
  • And the ADHD-you're impulsive, can't sit still in the classroom.†   (source)
  • So she became impulsive, scared by her inaction into perpetual action.†   (source)
  • Or was it just another impulsive Alaska moment?†   (source)
  • Kits may be impulsive but she's not stupid.†   (source)
  • Maybe she could talk Branna into joining them—a kind of impulsive girls' night out.†   (source)
  • The impulsive detour took them thirty minutes.†   (source)
  • I'd be more impulsive, not always thinking about consequences.†   (source)
  • "Impulsiveness can be charming," she agreed.†   (source)
  • Most astonishing were the young women who made impulsive advances in unexpected circumstances.†   (source)
  • Once the words slipped out, I worried that he might take my impulsive observation the wrong way.†   (source)
  • I doubt I'd have told you otherwise, though I can be impulsive.†   (source)
  • Bigwig, his warm, impulsive nature stirred by curiosity and pity, went across the run.†   (source)
  • What was so impulsive about trying to fix the gae bolga?†   (source)
  • Because you're an impulsive whelp," repeated Cooper.†   (source)
  • You're a prideful thing, and Prusias is as impulsive and transparent as a child.†   (source)
  • But now is not the time to be impulsive.†   (source)
  • The actor is impulsive and prone to the melodramatic.†   (source)
  • He was an expansive man, spontaneous and impulsive.†   (source)
  • Normally, I would have plunged ahead just to see what happened; I may not have been open about my feelings, but I was impulsive and quick to action.†   (source)
  • Maybe it was too impulsive.†   (source)
  • Carter and his bloody heroics, getting bitten by that Doctor Dolittle snake ...and he calls me impulsive.†   (source)
  • From my first moment in the Games, when I ran for that orange backpack, to the firefight in 8, to my impulsive race across the square in 2.†   (source)
  • It was impulsive, I'll admit.†   (source)
  • Difficult to describe the impulsive moment, when she had not permitted herself to think of the consequences before acting, or how the writer she had only that day become needed to know, to understand everything that came her way.†   (source)
  • If there was one lesson Holger Palmgren had taught her over the years, it was that impulsive actions led to trouble, and trouble could have unpleasant consequences.†   (source)
  • Maybe during the visit there had been a word or a look that hinted at all she didn't know, or maybe impulsive decisions made in the fog of lovesickness were becoming real.†   (source)
  • He's impulsive and angry, and he doesn't give other people the same benefit of the doubt that they give him!†   (source)
  • Impassioned, but not impulsive.†   (source)
  • While the Aurelianos were withdrawn, but with lucid minds, the Jose Arcadios were impulsive and enterprising, but they were marked with a tragic sign.†   (source)
  • It may have been impossible that someone as hesitant as myself could be seen as potentially wild or impulsive, but in our house I supplied the zip—the hint of the unpredictable, even if it was only an attempt at a Chinese recipe taken from the "Today" section of the Des Moines Register.†   (source)
  • Protected by the confusion, he went off in search of his brother, who had not been in bed since eleven o'clock, and it was such an impulsive decision that he did not even have time to ask himself how he could get him out of Pilar Ternera's bedroom.†   (source)
  • Lust deprived of spontaneous fulfillment: that's what shames him now Once he had been in control; once he had been an impulsive pursuer.†   (source)
  • Go ahead, call me an idiot for walking into a strange lady's shop like that just because I was hungry, but I do impulsive stuff sometimes.†   (source)
▲ show less (of above)