1.
[syn: hotheaded, impulsive, impetuous, madcap, tearaway(a), brainish]
2. marked by violent force;
- Example: "impetuous heaving waves"
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Impetuous \Im*pet"u*ous\, a. [F. impetueux, L. impetuosus. See
Impetus.]
1. Rushing with force and violence; moving with impetus;
furious; forcible; violent; as, an impetuous wind; an
impetuous torrent.
[1913 Webster]
Went pouring forward with impetuous speed. --Byron.
[1913 Webster]
2. Vehement in feeling; hasty; passionate; violent; as, a man
of impetuous temper.
[1913 Webster]
The people, on their holidays,
Impetuous, insolent, unquenchable. --Milton.
Syn: Forcible; rapid; hasty; precipitate; furious;
boisterous; violent; raging; fierce; passionate. --
Im*pet"u*ous*ly, adv. -- Im*pet"u*ous*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
impetuous
adj 1: characterized by undue haste and lack of thought or
deliberation; "a hotheaded decision"; "liable to such
impulsive acts as hugging strangers"; "an impetuous
display of spending and gambling"; "madcap escapades";
(`brainish' is archaic) [syn: hotheaded, impulsive,
impetuous, madcap, tearaway(a), brainish]
2: marked by violent force; "impetuous heaving waves"