Meanings
plural impulsivities
- uncountableusuallyThe quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.
1 more example
In reliable environments, waiting to eat a second marshmallow is likely to be beneficial. However, in environments in which rewards are uncertain, such as when experimenters are unreliable, eating the single marshmallow right away may be beneficial. Thus, impulsivity can be understood as an adaptive response to the contingencies present in an unstable environment rather than a moral failure in which animalistic drives overwhelm human rationality.
2020, Joseph Cesario, David J. Johnson, Heather L. Eisthen, “Your Brain Is Not an Onion With a Tiny Reptile Inside”, in Current Directions in Psychological Science, volume 29, number 3Synonyms: impulsiveness
Synonyms & antonyms
nounThe quality of being impulsive, impulsiveness; inclination to act on impulse rather than thought.
Origin
Translations
Catalan impulsivitat
- impulsivitatimpulsivity
Chinese Mandarin 衝動 /冲动
- 衝動 /冲动 (chōngdòng)impulsivity
Danish impulsivitet
- impulsivitetimpulsivity
Dutch impulsiviteit
- impulsiviteitimpulsivity
Esperanto impulseco
- impulsecoimpulsivity
Finnish impulsiivisuus
- impulsiivisuusimpulsivity
French impulsivité
- impulsivitéimpulsivity
German Impulsivität, impulsives Wesen
- Impulsivitätimpulsivity
- impulsives Wesenimpulsivity
Indonesian impulsivitas
- impulsivitasimpulsivity
Irish ríogacht
- ríogachtimpulsivity
Italian impulsività
- impulsivitàimpulsivity
Norwegian Bokmål impulsivitet
- impulsivitetimpulsivity
Polish impulsywność, porywczość
- impulsywnośćimpulsivity
- porywczośćimpulsivity
Portuguese impulsividade
- impulsividadeimpulsivity
Romanian impulsivitate
- impulsivitateimpulsivity
Spanish impulsividad
- impulsividadimpulsivity
Swedish impulsivitet
- impulsivitetimpulsivity
Turkish dürtüsellik
- dürtüsellikimpulsivity
Cite this entry
impulsivity. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impulsivity
“impulsivity.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impulsivity. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “impulsivity,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/impulsivity.
Source: impulsivity on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.