/ ɪmˈpʌlsɪv; NAmE / adjective
( of people or their behaviour ) acting suddenly without thinking carefully about what might happen because of what you are doing
SYN impetuous , rash :
an impulsive decision / gesture
You're so impulsive!
He has an impulsive nature.
► im·pul·sive·ly adverb :
Impulsively he reached out and took her hand.
► im·pul·sive·ness noun [ U ]
••
WORD ORIGIN
late Middle English (in the sense tending to impel ): from French impulsif , -ive or late Latin impulsivus , from Latin impuls- driven onwards, from impellere , from in- towards + pellere to drive. The current sense dates from the mid 18th cent.