impulsive

[im-puhl-siv] / ɪmˈpʌl sɪv /

ADJECTIVE

tending to act without thought

Synonyms

STRONGEST

abrupt hasty impetuous instinctive offhand passionate spontaneous violent

WEAK

ad-lib automatic careless devil-may-care emotional extemporaneous flaky gone off deep end headlong hot-and-cold intuitive involuntary jumping the gun mad precipitate quick rash sudden swift unconsidered unexpected unmeditated unpredictable unpremeditated unprompted up-and-down winging it

Antonyms

STRONGEST

calm deliberate planned sensible

WEAK

cautious considering heedful premeditative thoughtful wise

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.

Adventurous and impulsive, Turner made a mark in many walks of life.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026

But during her sentencing ruling Olivier said "it wasn't... an impulsive act. It was the event of the evening," the AFP news agency reports.

From BBC • Apr. 16, 2026

So really, the message here is that we should all be more impulsive and slightly unhinged — Anna ends up living her Tuscan dreams after all.

From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 10, 2026

Even though both sexes had similar levels of caffeine in their systems, females displayed much higher levels of impulsive behavior.

From Science Daily • Mar. 31, 2026

It isn’t very bar mitzvah, but it wouldn’t be me unless I did at least one stupid, impulsive thing.

From "Linked" by Gordon Korman

Vocabulary lists containing impulsive

List 1

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The Lightning Thief

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Dracula

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