as in impulsive
acting or done quickly and without thought; controlled by emotion rather than thought
He's always been an impetuous young man, rushing into things without asking questions first. made an impetuous decision
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Recent Examples of impetuous
After the events of the first season, the HBO series’ dual protagonists—Joel (Pedro Pascal), a grizzled smuggler, and Ellie (Bella Ramsey), his impetuous surrogate daughter—decided to settle in Jackson, Wyoming, joining perhaps the only remaining human outpost governed by hope rather than by fear.
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Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2025
Raiff’s impetuous outbursts serve his babyish college kid well, and the writer-director’s honest dialogue and empathetic perspective are even more valuable.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
Sheinbaum must walk a fine line between her constituents, who don’t want to see Mexico humiliated — or go broke — and the unpredictable, impetuous Trump.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
There’s never been a more divisive, vindictive, cruel, illiterate, impetuous, rude bully than the former president.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for impetuous
Inkoo Kang, New Yorker, 20 Apr. 2025
Raiff’s impetuous outbursts serve his babyish college kid well, and the writer-director’s honest dialogue and empathetic perspective are even more valuable.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 26 Jan. 2025
Sheinbaum must walk a fine line between her constituents, who don’t want to see Mexico humiliated — or go broke — and the unpredictable, impetuous Trump.
—Patrick J. McDonnell, Los Angeles Times, 12 Dec. 2024
There’s never been a more divisive, vindictive, cruel, illiterate, impetuous, rude bully than the former president.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 12 Oct. 2024
See All Example Sentences for impetuous
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impetuous
Adjective
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Reflective self-talk while performing tasks gives you self-regulation and prevents the lightning-fast, reflexive emotional self-talk from making impulsive decisions that lead to errors and mistakes.—
Bryan Robinson,
Forbes.com,
7 Sep. 2025
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Ari is a rich kid from New York, who is an impulsive motormouth desperate for Sam’s affection.—
Esther Zuckerman,
IndieWire,
7 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The adventurous archaeologist travels the globe looking for missing artifacts and historical treasures.—
Christopher Rudolph,
PEOPLE,
7 Sep. 2025
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For something more adventurous, Smyril Line runs a weekly ferry between Denmark, the Faroe Islands, and Iceland.—
David Nikel,
Forbes.com,
6 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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Look, the kid’s obviously fearless.—
Joe Nguyen,
Denver Post,
7 Sep. 2025
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Turner will play Lara Croft, the fearless British archaeologist who’s always ready to swing into action with her iconic braid flying and dual pistols blazing.—
Samantha Stutsman,
PEOPLE,
6 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impetuous.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuous. Accessed 14 Sep. 2025.
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