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as in capriciousness
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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
-
Whether out of arrogance, capriciousness, or collective amnesia, this recent history was ignored.—
John Cassidy,
New Yorker,
13 Mar. 2026
-
The capriciousness of fate was not lost on Karstens and many of the survivors.—
Jake Goodrick,
Sacbee.com,
23 Dec. 2025
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
-
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
-
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
-
Past studies have shown the use of marijuana during pregnancy is linked to low birth weight, impulsivity, hyperactivity, attention difficulties, and other cognitive and behavioral issues in children, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.—
Sandee LaMotte,
CNN Money,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Officials cited in the report pointed to his unreachability and impulsivity in response to high-stakes situations.—
Rebecca Schneid,
Time,
18 Apr. 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
-
But this doesn’t explain the rapidity of the shift nor the fact that all the leading American AI research labs moved in the same direction.—
Nick Srnicek,
Wired News,
14 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
The Menu No speakeasy would be complete without a unique drink menu to add intrigue and whimsy to the experience.—
Sarah Gilliland,
Southern Living,
2 May 2026
-
With shoes and swimwear, activewear and accessories, and all the coveted dresses, sweaters, and jeans in between, Free People offers trendy threads for fashion-forward gals on the go who love a touch of whimsy.—
Hannah Chubb,
Condé Nast Traveler,
30 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
There were plenty of ordinary and dismissive explanations for what had happened, all related to the vagaries of the brain.—
Elizabeth Bruenig,
The Atlantic,
26 Mar. 2026
-
As a result, those close to him have felt that there have been some vagaries around his role within the team since his arrival.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Impetuosity.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impetuosity. Accessed 4 May. 2026.
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