appulse means an energetic movement towards or against something; a push, a strike. It carries an Arena rating of 1690, earned across 3 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, appulse ranks #2,174 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,351 of 17,149 for Most Exacting Words, #2,575 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #3,302 of 17,124 for Most Sublime Words.
appulse is pronounced /ˈæp.əls/.
Why “appulse” is a great word
A driving or striking movement towards something, or the close approach of two celestial bodies. From the Latin appulsus, past participle of appellere ('to drive to, to bring to'), from ad- ('to, towards') + pellere ('to drive, push, strike'). Unlike 'impulse,' which denotes a sudden urge from within, or 'conjunction,' which is a precise astronomical alignment, an appulse is the observable, external arc of one thing drawn inexorably toward another. It is the moth meeting a lamp, the tide's final shudder against a seawall, or the moon's silent, breathless near-miss of a distant star—a tension charged with direction, a word that hums with the warmth of nearing, never arrival.
Etymology
From Latin appulsus.
noun
- An energetic movement towards or against something; a push, a strike.
- A close approach of two heavenly bodies; a conjunction or occultation.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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