All 5 Uses of
impetuous
in
Paradise Lost
- Winged with red lightning and impetuous rage,
Book 1 *impetuous = impulsive and rapid
- On a sudden open fly,
With impetuous recoil and jarring sound,
Th' infernal doors, and on their hinges grate
Harsh thunder, that the lowest bottom shook
Of Erebus.†Book 2impetuous = impulsive (acting suddenly without much thought)
- Thither came Uriel, gliding through the even
On a sun-beam, swift as a shooting star
In autumn thwarts the night, when vapours fired
Impress the air, and shows the mariner
From what point of his compass to beware
Impetuous winds: He thus began in haste.†Book 4
- which, on the victor host
Levelled, with such impetuous fury smote,
That, whom they hit, none on their feet might stand,
Though standing else as rocks, but down they fell
By thousands, Angel on Arch-Angel rolled;†Book 6
- down rushed the rain
Impetuous;†Book 11
Definitions:
-
(1)
(impetuous as in: an impetuous decision) impulsive (acting suddenly without much thought) -- often with an unfortunate consequence
-
(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
In historic literature, impetuous often refers to any rapid, forceful, and/or violent movement.