Dictionary

propel en · VERB

Pronunciation

• (US) audio
• /pɹəˈpɛl/ (Canada, General-American, Received-Pronunciation)
• /pɹəˈpel/ (Australia, New-Zealand)

Etymology

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

Meanings

1. (transitive) To provide an impetus for motion or physical action; to cause to move in a certain direction; to drive or push forward.
   • 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. 1918 September–November, Edgar Rice Burroughs, “The Land That Time Forgot”, in The Blue Book Magazine, Chicago, Ill.: Story-press Corp., →OCLC; republished as chapter V, in Hugo Gernsback, editor, Amazing Stories, (please specify |part=I to III), New York, N.Y.: Experimenter Publishing, 1927, →OCLC:
   • Primary mass relays can propel ships thousands of light years, often from one spiral arm of the galaxy to another. 2008, BioWare, Mass Effect (Science Fiction), Redwood City: Electronic Arts, →ISBN, →OCLC, PC, scene: Mass Relays Codex entry:
   • This tunnel assumed some measure of importance during the second world war, when it was used nightly as an air raid shelter for multiple unit electric trains which were propelled over the branch by a steam engine. 1952 December, R. C. Riley, “By Rail to Kemp Town”, in Railway Magazine, page 836:
2. (figuratively, transitive) To provide an impetus for nonphysical change; to cause to arrive to a certain situation or result.
   • 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, 2005, Plato, translated by Lesley Brown, Sophist, page 265e:
   • Black women helped propel Harris and president-elect Joe Biden to victory by elevating turnout in places like Detroit, Milwaukee and Philadelphia. 2020 November 7, Chelsea Janes, “Kamala Harris, daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, elected nation’s first female vice president”, in Washington Post:

Forms

Antonyms

stop (antonym(s) of “either”) · halt (antonym(s) of “either”) · stay (antonym(s) of “either”) · rest (antonym(s) of “cause to move”)

Deriveds

propellant · nonpropelled · propellable · self-propelled · repropel · propelment · propeller · propellent · unpropelled · propelling pencil · self-propelling

Relateds

propulsion

Synonyms

push (either) · drive (either) · impel

Translations (42)

eo propulsi (to cause to move in a certain direction) · la prōpellō (to cause to move in a certain direction) · es propeler (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · cs pohánět (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · de antreiben (to cause to move in a certain direction) · fr catapulter (to cause to move in a certain direction) · fr catapulter (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · ru продвига́ть (to cause to move in a certain direction) · es impulsar (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · pt propulsar (to cause to move in a certain direction) · txb kärsk- (to cause to move in a certain direction) · fi kuljettaa (to cause to move in a certain direction) · es propeler (to cause to move in a certain direction) · bg карам (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · fi työntää (to cause to move in a certain direction) · mi whakawhana (to cause to move in a certain direction) · fi aiheuttaa (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · hy առաջ մղել (to cause to move in a certain direction) · mi whakaneke (to cause to move in a certain direction) · io movar (to cause to move in a certain direction) · it propellere (to cause to move in a certain direction) · cmn 推進 /推进 (to cause to move in a certain direction) · mi tītoko (to cause to move in a certain direction) · cs hnát (to cause to move in a certain direction) · cmn 驅使 /驱使 (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · bg движа (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · hy խթանել (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · cs pohánět (to cause to move in a certain direction) · gd spàrr (to cause to move in a certain direction) · bg тласкам (to cause to move in a certain direction) · ca propulsar (to cause to move in a certain direction) · ru дви́гать (to cause to move in a certain direction) · fr propulser (to cause to move in a certain direction) · it catapultare (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · it spingere (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · bg бутам (to cause to move in a certain direction) · gd cuir air adhart (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · fi johdattaa (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · fi liikuttaa (to cause to move in a certain direction) · cmn 迫使 (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · cs hnát (to make to arrive to a certain situation or result) · io propulsar (to cause to move in a certain direction)