1
as in capriciousness
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2
as in impulsiveness
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Recent Examples of impetuosity
What few at the time foresaw was that the region could be delivered to China through Trump’s sheer impetuosity, or his inability to think before posting.
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Quico Toro, The Atlantic, 27 Jan. 2025
Two centuries later, the Greek historian Polybius contrasted Roman discipline, order, and rationality with Celtic impetuosity, chaos, and passion on the battlefield.
—Michele Gelfand, Foreign Affairs, 22 June 2021
His sacred vows didn’t stop Kelly from displaying the impetuosity that brands this city’s fans.
—Frank Fitzpatrick, Philly.com, 14 Apr. 2018
Regardless of whether fate led these men to board the train, Eastwood suggests that what drove them to act when faced with a crisis was their youthful impetuosity.
—Ben Sachs, Chicago Reader, 9 Feb. 2018
Meeting his current expedition partner, Børge Ousland, required another stroke of youthful impetuosity.
—Kelly Bastone, Outside Online, 8 Nov. 2017
Not to give too much away, but Alice’s romantic impetuosity in her youth has fateful consequences that only a show as sentimentally over the top as this could happily resolve.
—Charles McNulty, latimes.com, 23 Oct. 2017
This president combines qualities of Shakespeare’s worst kings: the vanity of Lear, the impetuosity of Richard II, the maliciousness of Richard III.
—Paula Marantz Cohen, WSJ, 8 Sep. 2017
But, then again, that’s the sort of recipe favored by Donald Trump, a president who acts with impetuosity and has little time for strategy.
—Matt Giles, Longreads, 31 July 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impetuosity
Noun
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The capriciousness of fate was not lost on Karstens and many of the survivors.—
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The president’s bombast and capriciousness have led many European countries to increase their defense spending—a positive outcome, to be sure, and not inherently at odds with the notion of a unified, geopolitical West.—
Noun
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Lofland says that while Cooper’s decisions might frustrate the audience, his impulsiveness is an important part of what makes the character tick.—
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The novel Elphie follows the witch from infancy, shaped by her mother Melena’s impulsiveness and her father Frex’s stern piety, and navigating the jealousies that arise with the arrivals of her siblings, Nessarose and Shell.—
Noun
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His audacity and her rashness might surprise some.—
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At other times, the result can be both immediate and devastating, as seen in many traffic accidents caused by impatience, inattentiveness, or rashness.—
Noun
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Today, every country’s economy is tied to others, but a small nation that’s as historically dependent on trade as Denmark seems particularly vulnerable to Trump’s caprices.—
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Over that time his work neatly evaded the whims and caprices of fashion, achieving a kind of timelessness and clarity of purpose.—
Noun
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Our patience is going to be tested because Mars has no chill and tends to thrust us toward impulsivity.—
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Trump bragged of his impulsivity.—
Noun
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Still others warned of the rapidity with which democracy could give way to dictatorship.—
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The film captures the rapidity of time, with flashes of beauty and brutality whipping by in turn.—
Noun
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So for a little more whimsy and joy this year, why not pick up the crochet hooks or paintbrush, or join a book club?—
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Keep your eyes open for dashes of whimsy, in keeping with the hotel’s brand.—
Noun
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Clark pulls these plot tendrils into a cohesive story that delves deep into police investigations and the vagaries of Chicago.—
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And all these considerations are preceded by the unpredictable, impossible-to-model vagaries of smoke itself.—
Cite this Entry
“Impetuosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuosity. Accessed 20 Jan. 2026.
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