Propel

//pɹəˈpɛl// verb

verb ·Moderate ·College level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To provide an impetus for motion or physical action; to cause to move in a certain direction; to drive or push forward. transitive

    "When it had advanced from the wood, it hopped much after the fashion of a kangaroo, using its hind feet and tail to propel it, and when it stood erect, it sat upon its tail."

  2. 2
    cause to move forward with force wordnet
  3. 3
    To provide an impetus for nonphysical change; to cause to arrive to a certain situation or result. figuratively, transitive

    "I can discern your nature and see that even without any arguments (logoi) from me it will propel you to what you say you are drawn towards,"

  4. 4
    give an incentive for action wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
drivemotivateactuateactuateadvanceanimate

Example

More examples

"Going all out like this is going to propel me right into an all-or-nothing struggle."

Etymology

From Middle English propellen (“drive out, expel”), from Latin propellō, from pro- (“forward”) and pellō (“I push, I move”).

Related phrases

propelling pencilself-propelledself-propelling

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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.