How to Use impel in a Sentence
impel
verb- She felt impelled to give a speech after the performance.
- His interest in the American Civil War impelled him to make repeated visits to Gettysburg.
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But with this film, as with all her others, Ramsay impels us to see.
—Leah Pickett, Chicago Reader, 12 Apr. 2018
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In a flash, rain poured and wind whipped at once, blowing trash onto the field and impelling a rapid response from the grounds crew.
—Los Angeles Times, 17 July 2019
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As a sample of one, Davis couldn’t clinch the case, of course, but being a woman impelled her to prove herself on the trail.
—Paul Bisceglio, The Atlantic, 13 May 2018
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The 2016 election also impelled her to act, to set an example for her son.
—Melena Ryzik, New York Times, 4 Apr. 2018
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This works as a rhetorical move: No one wants to be stuck, and dread of this fate can impel a person to action.
—Virginia Heffernan, Wired, 11 July 2022
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Social conventions impel boys to move on, be strong, suck it up.
—Michael Reichert, The Atlantic, 26 Feb. 2018
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This was a man full of remorse, haunted by history – and impelled by love.
—Erin Douglass, The Christian Science Monitor, 3 Jan. 2024
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While a trade war with the U.S. would be disastrous for China, national pride might impel Xi to fight on.
—Bloomberg.com, 12 Apr. 2018
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The failure to make progress on the issue is what impelled Democrats in the Senate to refuse to pass a spending bill last month, leading to the temporary shutdown.
—Nash Jenkins, Time, 6 Feb. 2018
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The purpose of this verbal sleight of hand is to humanize trees, and thereby impel the reader to extend greater care to them.
—Robert Moor, The New Yorker, 10 June 2021
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These actions have been impelled by the need to conserve scarce protective gear for health care workers.
—Hal Bernton, Anchorage Daily News, 30 Mar. 2020
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This contributes to the lawlessness and violence that impel people to flee the region and go to the United States.
—The Economist, 10 May 2018
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David Sedaris’ essays impel me to read aloud and laugh communally – at the beach, on a road trip, and sometimes at the dinner table.
—Staff, The Christian Science Monitor, 25 June 2021
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Anyone who knew about plants would know that there were roots beneath the surface impelling their way through the underlying soil.
—Linda McNamar, Orange County Register, 21 May 2017
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At least some rental contracts give tenants the power to impel their landlord to install window guards against theft.
—Cecilia D'anastasio, Wired, 24 Jan. 2020
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Like Reichardt, Carr was impelled by the natural world, its enigmas.
—Doreen St. Félix, The New Yorker, 22 June 2023
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Most of the other people portrayed in the film are impelled by fear, deprivation and love of family.
—Mark Jenkins, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2023
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The need to evolve from a Clamor into a Teo impelled a series of self-consciously virile escapades.
—Alex Ross, The New Yorker, 26 June 2023
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But the announcement of the plan to potentially put down the bear impelled two Banff residents to start a protest petition.
—Fox News, 14 July 2017
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What on earth impelled Mr. Martins to make Romeo suddenly wrap Tybalt’s head in his cloak and stab him repeatedly in the back?
—Alastair MacAulay, New York Times, 14 Feb. 2018
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And that impatience, coupled with the impetus of tournament cash, impels them to catch more fish, faster.
—Frank Sargeant, AL.com, 4 Nov. 2017
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Of course, the high-profile role of public officials should impel them to be sticklers about following their own rules.
—Rich Lowry, National Review, 3 Aug. 2021
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What impels her forward is the voice: free, pellucid, almost always first-person, interested not in the long view but in the here and now.
—Abhrajyoti Chakraborty, The New Republic, 5 Aug. 2019
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When Isaac Newton was a student at Cambridge in the early 1660s, something impelled him to reflect on his boyhood sins and to commit them, in code, to a tiny notebook.
—Meghan Cox Gurdon, WSJ, 10 Feb. 2017
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The vocalist’s death at 49 shocked the music world and impelled the group to get behind mental health and suicide prevention campaigns.
—Billboard Staff, Billboard, 17 Dec. 2019
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Is intervention likely to impel more violence in the long term?
—Daniel Bessner, The New Republic, 4 Sep. 2019
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Kirkwood’s determination to preserve the Union impelled him to lobby during the summer of 1862 for the enlistment of blacks into the Union Army.
—Mac Lloyd, The Aegis, 6 Sep. 2017
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At times, in temperatures of 52 damp degrees, pedestrians seemed unconsciously impelled to thrust ungloved hands into coat pockets.
—Martin Weil, Washington Post, 2 Dec. 2023
Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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