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.

These dispositions fluctuate by reason of the involuntary impulse which our organs every instant receive, on the part of an infinity of causes, either exterior to ourselves, or else contained within our own frame.

From The System of Nature, Volume 2 by Holbach, Paul Henri Thiry, baron d'

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

His own troops seemed to take the field with faintness and reluctance; but, in the heat of the battle, the Prætorian guards, almost by an involuntary impulse, asserted the superiority of their valor and discipline.

From History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire — Volume 1 by Milman, Henry Hart

The young woman raised her eyes slowly; they met his, and as if following an involuntary impulse, held out both hands to him-- "I thank you, Hugo, farewell!"

From Riven Bonds. Vol. I. A Novel, in Two Volumes by Werner, E.