impulse (noun)
1: an instinctive motive; "profound religious impulses" [syn: urge]
2: a sudden desire; "he bought it on an impulse" [syn: caprice, whim]
3: the electrical discharge that travels along a nerve fiber; "they demonstrated the transmission of impulses from the cortex to the hypothalamus" [syn: nerve impulse]
4: (electronics) a sharp transient wave in the normal electrical state (or a series of such transients); "the pulsations seemed to be coming from a star" [syn: pulsation, pulsing, pulse]
5: the act of applying force suddenly; "the impulse knocked him over" [syn: impulsion, impetus]
6: an impelling force or strength; "the car's momentum carried it off the road" [syn: momentum]