involuntary impulse

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

I heard a voice singing to the dip of oars, and had to be held down by five men to restrain an involuntary impulse to quit my company.

From Campaigns of a Non-Combatant, and His Romaunt Abroad During the War by Townsend, George Alfred

By an involuntary impulse the Ballawhaine turned his eyes upward to the ceiling while she spoke, as if he had expected to see the ghosts of his father and his brother threatening him.

From The Manxman A Novel - 1895 by Caine, Hall, Sir

Rivers yesterday was throwing flowers at me and Lucy, in play, as we were walking in the garden; I catched a wallflower, and, by an involuntary impulse, kissed it, and placed it in my bosom.

From The History of Emily Montague by Brooke, Frances

They did not walk towards it with the light brisk step of men who had hopes of success; but rather mechanically, as if yielding to a sort of involuntary impulse.

From The Plant Hunters Adventures Among the Himalaya Mountains by Reid, Mayne

And yet, no, not a thought, only an involuntary impulse of his lips, as when a draught of water is withheld from a thirsty man.

From The Hour Will Come: Volumes I and II A Tale of an Alpine Cloister by Hillern, Wilhelmine von