impetuous

/ɪmˈpetʃuəs/ (bre, ipa) · /ɪmˈpetʃuəs/ (ame, ipa) · /im-ˈpe-chᵊ-wəs -ˈpech-wəs, -ˈpe-chü-əs/ (ame, mw)

impetuous — 形容詞

  • impetuouspositive
  • more impetuouscomparative
  • most impetuoussuperlative

1. tending to act on a sudden urge or strong feeling without first weighing what mi

1.形容詞C1
釋義

衝動的

易受情緒驅使、未經深思就行動的個性

tending to act on a sudden urge or strong feeling without first weighing what might go wrong.

例句

Isabela was so impetuous that she quit her job after one argument with her boss.

Isabela 個性衝動，跟老闆吵了一次架就辭職。

subject + be + impetuous + that-clause showing the rash action

Young drivers can be impetuous, taking risks they later regret on the highway.

年輕駕駛容易衝動，在高速公路上冒險，事後才後悔。

predicative use with -ing clause showing the rash behaviour

同義詞
  • impulsive

    more neutral and common; less formal than impetuous

  • rash

    emphasises poor judgement more than emotion

  • hot-headed

    informal; emphasises anger as the trigger

反義詞

用法筆記

Often describes a person's general character or a one-off act driven by emotion. Frequently attributive before nouns like decision, move, gesture, youth. More formal than rash or impulsive.

常見錯誤

❌I felt impetuous to call him back.
✅I felt an impetuous urge to call him back.
💡impetuous describes the person or the action, not a feeling that you have toward doing something.
❌an impetuous river' (meaning swift)
✅a swift river' or 'an impetuous current' in literary contexts only
💡for everyday water flow, use rapid or fast-moving.

2. (of a remark, choice, or move) made on a sudden urge, without pausing to think a

2.形容詞C1
釋義

輕率的

（言行、決定）一時興起、未經考慮的

(of a remark, choice, or move) made on a sudden urge, without pausing to think about how it might turn out.

例句

Mizuki later regretted her impetuous proposal of marriage after only three dates.

Mizuki 後來很後悔自己才約會三次就草率求婚。

attributive: impetuous + noun naming the specific impulsive act

The general's impetuous order to attack at dawn cost the army hundreds of soldiers.

將軍下令拂曉發動攻擊的這個輕率決定，讓部隊折損了上百名士兵。

attributive with a noun of speech (order, remark, promise)

同義詞
  • hasty

    common and less formal; emphasises speed over emotion

  • spur-of-the-moment

    informal compound; lighter, often neutral or positive

  • ill-considered

    stresses the lack of thought rather than the emotion driving it

反義詞

用法筆記

Distinguish from sense 1: sense 2 modifies the act, statement, or choice (impetuous decision, impetuous remark), while sense 1 modifies the person (an impetuous girl). Almost always attributive — you would not say 'the remark was impetuous' as naturally as 'an impetuous remark'.

常見錯誤

❌The decision was impetuous and went well.
✅The decision was impetuous, but luckily it went well.
💡impetuous carries a negative tone implying the outcome should have been bad; pair with a contrastive marker if it ended well.

3. (literary) moving or acting with great speed and physical power, often in a way

3.形容詞C2
釋義

猛烈的

（文學用法）來勢迅猛、難以阻擋的

(literary) moving or acting with great speed and physical power, often in a way that is hard to stop.

例句

The impetuous current swept the small fishing boat against the rocks below the cliff.

湍急的水流把小漁船沖向懸崖底下的礁石。

literary: impetuous + noun of natural force (current, wind, torrent)

Spring rains turned the quiet stream into an impetuous torrent within a single afternoon.

春雨使原本平靜的小溪在一個下午之間變成洶湧的激流。

impetuous + torrent: the canonical literary collocation

同義詞
  • raging

    more common; describes uncontrolled force, especially of water or fire

  • violent

    neutral register; emphasises destructive force

  • headlong

    stresses unstoppable forward motion

反義詞
  • gentle

    moving with low force

  • calm

    without violent motion

用法筆記

Mostly literary or journalistic; in plain modern English use violent, raging, or powerful instead. Only ever attributive in this sense — you wouldn't say 'the wind was impetuous'.