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.
—
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
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
-
Her capriciousness leads her into an affair with a frustrated professor, Mark (Michael Angarano), who compliments her writing and composes pretentious, backhandedly insulting poems about their not-quite-love.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
15 Apr. 2026
-
Whether out of arrogance, capriciousness, or collective amnesia, this recent history was ignored.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
That impulsiveness was on display last year when the president pushed the Texas state legislature to gerrymander its electoral maps before the midterms in the hope of maintaining Republican control of Congress.—
Jason Willick,
Washington Post,
26 Apr. 2026
-
Malcolm's daughter is struggling in life and school, but her father's genetic toolkit only has belligerence, impulsiveness and thickheadedness, passed on by his on-screen parents.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
And yet, Washington responded to Genet not with rashness and bravado but with restraint made public law.—
Maurizio Valsania,
The Conversation,
9 Jan. 2026
-
His audacity and her rashness might surprise some.—
Hanako Montgomery,
CNN Money,
11 Oct. 2025
Noun
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One needed Mother Nature to bestow upon brewers the right temperatures for making beer, and in the days before refrigeration and even thermometers, that meant that brewing was largely dictated by the caprices of the seasons.—
Jay R. Brooks,
Mercury News,
27 Feb. 2026
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Order the waterzooi — the house specialty seafood stew — the duck confit, the crepe caprice, or the escargot petit gris served in a Roquefort cream sauce.—
USA TODAY NETWORK,
USA Today,
13 Feb. 2026
Noun
-
Stay flexible and embrace the detours, because the sun will join forces with change-maker Uranus today, adding a layer of electricity, impulsivity and unpredictability to the atmosphere.—
Valerie Mesa,
PEOPLE,
22 May 2026
-
Into this toxic environment step two young people who briefly glimpse the possibility of something better—only for the surrounding culture of hatred, honor, and impulsivity to destroy them both.—
Steve Denning,
Forbes.com,
21 May 2026
Noun
-
The two women’s powerful, mysterious bond is sketched in sharp yet subtle dramatic strokes that are all the more thrilling for their breathless rapidity.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
3 Apr. 2026
-
The rapidity of these updates, and often the ensuing reverse ferret, has earned a nickname: TACO (Trump Always Chickens Out).—
Eleanor Pringle,
Fortune,
24 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
While a Tudor home is full of character and embodies the whimsy dreamers are drawn to, Brutalist architecture's strength and purpose speak to those who value respect over charm.—
Maria Sabella,
Better Homes & Gardens,
23 May 2026
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Minute repeaters straddle the line between the artistry of micro-mechanical watchmaking and the whimsy that is possible in haute horlogerie.—
Carol Besler,
Forbes.com,
23 May 2026
Noun
-
All four have the vagaries of fitness and form and the pressures of expectation to manage, but the more interesting thing about their presence in this tournament is how the balance of power could shift by its end.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
23 May 2026
-
The vagaries of the Civil War are also hard to intuit at times.—
Damon Wise,
Deadline,
22 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impetuosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuosity. Accessed 27 May. 2026.
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