impetuous

WOTD - 29 December 2009    

English

Etymology

From Middle English, from Old French impetueus, from Late Latin impetuōsus (“violent”), from Latin impetus (“violence”).

Pronunciation

• IPA: /imˈpɛtʃuəs/

• Audio (US)

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Adjective

impetuous (comparative more impetuous, superlative most impetuous)

1. Making arbitrary decisions, especially in an impulsive and forceful manner.
   • 1880, John Weeks Moore, Complete Encyclopaedia of Music, "Beethoven, Louis Van ":

     But it was natural, that the impetuous, restless young artist should incline more to excess of strength than of delicacy in his playing.

2. Characterized by sudden and violent force.
   • 1794, Ann Radcliffe, The Mysteries of Udolpho, vol. II, chapter I:

     He stands, and views in the faint rays
     Far, far below, the torrent's rising surge,
     And listens to the wild impetuous roar

Synonyms

• impulsive
• hasty
• rash
• hotheaded

Translations

describing one who makes arbitrary decisions

Armenian: իմպուլսիվ (hy) (impulsiv) Basque: odolbero (eu), oldartsu (eu), oldar handiko  (eu) Catalan: impetuós (ca) Czech: unáhlený (cs) m., zbrklý (cs) m. Danish: impulsiv (da) Filipino: mapusok Finnish: kiivas (fi), kiihkeä (fi), raju (fi), äkkipikainen (fi) French: impulsif (fr), irréfléchi (fr)

German: ungestüm (de) Hungarian: hirtelen (hu) Italian: impulsivo (it) Norwegian: impulsstyrt (no) Polish: zapalczywy m. impulsywny m., porywczy m. Russian: поспешный (ru) m. Slovak: zbrklý (sk),impulzívny (sk) Spanish: impulsivo (es) m., impulsiva (es) f., irreflexivo (es)

characterized by sudden and violent force

Armenian: բուռն (hy) (buṙn), սրընթաց (hy) (srëntac’), պոռթկուն (hy) (poṙt’kun) Catalan: impetuós (ca) Danish: opfarende (da), heftig (da), fremfusende (da) Filipino: mapusok Finnish: raju (fi), kiihkeä (fi) French: impétueux (fr), brutal (fr), brusque  (fr), violent (fr) German: ungestüm (de)

Hungarian: indulatos (hu) Italian: irruente (it) Norwegian: oppfarende (no), fremfusende (no) Russian: порывистый (ru), стремительный (ru) Slovak: prudký (sk) Spanish: impetuoso (es) m., brutal (es), brusco (es), violento (es)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

French: impétueux, brusque Indonesian: tanpa pikir panjang, sembrono