What does impetus mean?
Word: Impetus
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: Impetus means something that encourages an activity to happen or to grow faster.
Synonyms: boost, push
Word origin: Borrowed unchanged from Latin in the 1600s.
How do you spell impetus?
Syllables: im - pe - tus
Tricky part: The middle syllable, pe, is said so weakly that students write impitus or impatus; its vowel is e.
Watch out for: impitus, impatus, impettus
Memory tip: Find the pet inside impetus: a pet tugging on its lead gives you the impetus to walk faster.
Impetus in a sentence
Example 1: The visit by an Olympic medallist gave real impetus to athletics at our school.
Example 2: Cheaper solar panels have given impetus to rooftop power in many Indian cities.
Example 3: Her grandmother's stories were the impetus for Neha's first book of poems.
Fun Fact
Medieval thinkers used impetus for an idea about motion: a thrown stone was thought to carry a store of impetus that slowly ran out. Newton's laws later replaced that idea.
Practise the CREST Way
Back to the Roots
Choose the correct option:
Impetus is a Latin word taken into English unchanged. In Latin it meant ___.
a) a quiet rest
b) a high wall
c) a rush forward
d) a small gift
Show answer
c) a rush forward. Latin impetus was a forward rush or force, close to the push the English word describes.
Word Puzzle
Match each word with its meaning:
1. impetus 2. obstacle 3. remedy a. a force that drives something forward b. a cure for a problem c. a thing that blocks your way
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b
b) 1-c, 2-a, 3-b
c) 1-a, 2-b, 3-c
d) 1-b, 2-a, 3-c
Show answer
a) 1-a, 2-c, 3-b. An impetus drives things on, an obstacle blocks them, and a remedy puts a problem right.
Spell Probe
Fill the blanks with 'i' and 'u'. Which option gives the meaning of that word?
1. __mm__nse 2. __mp__ct 3. __mpet__s 4. __nc__me
a) money received for work or from savings
b) a strong effect that something has on a person
c) extremely large in size or amount
d) something that makes an activity happen or grow faster
Show answer
d) something that makes an activity happen or grow faster. i and u complete only impetus; the other three words need i together with a, e or o.
Word Twins
Read the sentences and choose the correct option:
1. The new library gave fresh impetus to reading in our school. 2. Raj is so impetus that he often speaks before he thinks.
a) only 1
b) both
c) neither
d) only 2
Show answer
a) only 1. Sentence 2 needs impetuous, an adjective for someone who acts without thinking; impetus is a noun for a push or boost.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. The new metro line gave impetus to shops near the stations. What happened to them?
a) they closed down
b) they moved away
c) their business grew faster
d) they stayed exactly the same
Show answer
c) their business grew faster
2. Which of these would give the biggest impetus to a school's recycling drive?
a) a prize for the class that collects the most
b) a week of heavy rain with no collections
c) a broken bin left at the school gate
d) a shortage of bags for the recycling
Show answer
a) a prize for the class that collects the most
