irrational impulse
1
8.0
- noun
- But on an irrational impulse, he did go in, and there she was at the reception desk handing in her key, in a squirrel coat and a gray shawl, with a blue leather bag at her feet.
Examples
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For a moment, Riker had to fight against an irrational impulse to wipe the look off Zarn's face.
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But on an irrational impulse, he did go in, and there she was at the reception desk handing in her key, in a squirrel coat and a gray shawl, with a blue leather bag at her feet.
Fiction book (1993) -
For a moment, Riker had to fight against an irrational impulse to wipe the look off Zarn's face.
Fiction book (1992) -
Both he and Paula had the same irrational impulse to conceal themselves and shadow Kate through the shops in order to discover her preferences.
Synonyms
200
3.6
A sudden strong want to do something without thinking
How Impulsive
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning is directly and transparently derived from combining 'irrational' (not guided by clear reasoning) with 'impulse' (a sudden strong urge), so a B1 learner who knows both words can infer the phrase's meaning. This is a straightforward adjective+noun composition following common cross-linguistic patterns, not requiring idiomatic or metaphorical knowledge.
Etymology
Irrational impulse is like an inner push you cannot explain. irrational means having no clear reason and impulse means a quick push to act, so the phrase describes 'a sudden strong urge to do something without thinking'.