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adj. 1. Acting or done quickly with little or inadequate thought. 2. Having or marked by violent force: impetuous, heaving waves. [Middle English, violent, from Old French impetueux, from Late Latin impetuōsus, from Latin impetus, impetus; see IMPETUS.] im·petu·ous·ly adv. im·petu·ous·ness n. Synonyms: impetuous, hasty, headlong, precipitate These adjectives describe abruptness or lack of deliberation. Impetuous suggests forceful impulsiveness or impatience: "[Martin Luther King] feared that an ill-prepared, impetuous demonstration would endanger ... the marchers" (Nick Kotz). Hasty and headlong both stress hurried, often reckless action: "Hasty marriage seldom proveth well" (Shakespeare). "In his headlong flight down the circular staircase, ... [he] had pitched forward violently ... and probably broken his neck" (Mary Roberts Rinehart). Precipitate suggests impulsiveness and lack of due reflection: "All my mistakes in life had flowed from that precipitate departure of mine" (Philip Roth). |
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