Definition of "impel"

impel

/ɪmˈpɛl/

verb
third-person singular simple present impels, present participle impelling, simple past and past participle impelled
1. (transitive) To urge a person; to press on; to incite to action or motion via intrinsic motivation.
  Quotations
  She was a fat, round little woman, richly apparelled in velvet and lace, […]; and the way she laughed, cackling like a hen, the way she talked to the waiters and the maid, […]—all these unexpected phenomena impelled one to hysterical mirth, and made one class her with such immortally ludicrous types as Ally Sloper, the Widow Twankey, or Miss Moucher.
  1918, W. B. Maxwell, chapter 2, in The Mirror and the Lamp‎
  Concern for the common good should impel us to find ways to overcome the devilish impact of these disastrous policies […]
  2016, Noam Chomsky, What Kind of Creatures Are We?, New York: Columbia University Press, page 61
2. (transitive) To drive forward; to propel an object, to provide an impetus for motion or action.