Impetuous means acting suddenly without stopping to think. An impetuous decision, impetuous youth, impetuous by nature.
It is gentler than reckless, because it blames haste rather than disregard for danger, and it is often affectionate about the young. The Latin behind it means an attack, and impetus, the force carrying something forward, is the same word.
1adjectiveimpetuousActing suddenly without stopping to think.
“In an impetuous moment, he quit his job and bought a ticket to Brazil.”
impetuous is a quality.
Latin impetuosus comes from impetus, an attack or rush, from impetere, to rush upon.
Proto-Indo-European
*peth₂-
Latin
impetuōsus — violent
Old French
impetueux
Middle English
impetuous
English, today
impetuous
From Middle English impetuous, from Old French impetueux, from Latin impetuōsus (“violent”), from Latin impetus (“attack, violence”).
Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA