urge

See also: urgé, urĝe, and ürge

English

Etymology

From Latin urgeō (“urge”).

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) enPR: ûrj, IPA^(key): /ɜːd͡ʒ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

• (General American) enPR: ûrj, IPA^(key): /ɝd͡ʒ/

  • Audio (US)

    (file)

• Rhymes: -ɜː(ɹ)dʒ

Noun

urge (plural urges)

1. A strong desire; an itch to do something.
   • 1962, Robert Frost, “Away!”, in In the Clearing:

     Unless I’m wrong / I but obey / The urge of a song: / I’m—bound—away!

   After seeing the advert for a soft drink, I had a sudden urge to buy a bottle.

   sexual urges

   repress your urges

   satisfy your urges

Translations

a strong desire; an itch to do something

• Bulgarian: порив (bg) m (poriv), подтик (bg) m (podtik)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 衝動／冲动 (zh) (chōngdòng), 願望／愿望 (zh) (yuànwàng)

• Dutch: drang (nl) m, aandrang (nl) m, aandrift (nl) f
• Finnish: halu (fi), hinku (fi), vietti (fi)
• French: pulsion (fr) f
• Galician: gana f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: Drang (de) m
• Greek: παρόρμηση (el) f (parórmisi)
• Hebrew: דַּחַף‎ (he) m (dáẖaf)
• Hungarian: vágy (hu), késztetés (hu), indíttatás, inger (hu), ösztönzés (hu), kényszer (hu), (suffix that forms nouns from verbs) -hatnék/-hetnék
• Ido: urjo (io), urjigo
• Italian: pulsione (it) f
• Japanese: 願望 (ja) (がんぼう, ganbō), 衝動 (ja) (しょうどう, shōdō)
• Middle English: talent
• Norwegian: trang (no) m
• Portuguese: comichão (pt) f, ânsia (pt) f
• Romanian: nevoie (ro) f
• Russian: побужде́ние (ru) n (pobuždénije), толчо́к (ru) m (tolčók), жела́ние (ru) n (želánije)
• Serbo-Croatian: poriv (sh) m
• Spanish: impulso (es) m
• Swahili: hanjamu (sw)
• Swedish: uppmana (sv)
• Telugu: త్వరపెట్టు (te) (tvarapeṭṭu)
• Turkish: dürtü (tr), arzu (tr), istek (tr)

Verb

urge (third-person singular simple present urges, present participle urging, simple past and past participle urged)

1. (transitive) To press; to push; to drive; to impel; to force onward.
   • 1703, Alexander Pope, transl., William Charles Macready, editor, Thebais, London: Bradbury & Evans, translation of original by Statius, published 1849, page 129:

     Lo hapless Tydeus, whose ill-fated hand / Had slain his brother, leaves his native land, / And seized with horror in the shades of night, / Through the thick deserts headlong urged his flight […]

2. (transitive) To put mental pressure on; to ply with motives, arguments, persuasion, or importunity.

   My boss urged me to reconsider my decision to leave the company, even offering a pay rise.

   • c. 1606–1607, William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Anthonie and Cleopatra”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii], lines 51–57, page 345, column 2:

     You do miſtake your buſines, my Brother neuer / Did vrge me in his Act : I did inquire it, / And haue my Learning from ſome true reports / That drew their ſwords with you, did he not rather / Diſcredit my authority with yours, / And make the warres alike againſt my ſtomacke, / Hauing alike your cauſe.

3. (transitive) To provoke; to exasperate.
   • 1589–1593, William Shakespeare, “The Two Gentlemen of Verona”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies: Published According to the True Originall Copies, London: Printed by Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, Act IV, scene iii, page 24:

     Vrge not my fathers anger (Eglamoure) / But thinke vpon my griefe (a Ladies griefe) / And on the iuſtice of my flying hence, / To keepe me from a moſt vnholy match, / Which heauen and fortune ſtill rewards with plagues.

   • 1823, Sir Walter Scott, chapter II, in Quentin Durward, volume I, Edinburgh: Archibald Constable and Co., page 35:

     “I can answer a civil question civilly,” said the youth ; “and will pay fitting respect to your age, if you do not urge my patience with mockery. Since I have been here in France and Flanders, men have called me, in their fantasy, the Varlet with the Velvet Pouch, because of this hawk-purse which I carry by my side ; but my true name, when at home, is Quentin Durward.”

4. (transitive) To press hard upon; to follow closely.
   • a. 1744, Alexander Pope, transl., “The Second Epistle of the Second Book of Horace”, in The Poetical Works of Alexander Pope, volume III, London: William Pickering, translation of A Renunciation of Lyric Poetry by Horace, published 1851:

     Man ? and for ever ? wretch ! what wouldst thou have ? / Heir urges heir, like wave impelling wave.

5. (transitive) To present in an urgent manner; to insist upon.

   to urge an argument; to urge the necessity of a case

   • 1814 July, [Jane Austen], chapter X, in Mansfield Park: […], volume II, London: […] T[homas] Egerton, […], →OCLC, page 222:

     To be urging her opinion against Sir Thomas's, was a proof of the extremity of the case, but such was her horror at the first suggestion, that she could actually look him in the face and say she hoped it might be settled otherwise; in vain however; […]

6. (transitive, obsolete) To treat with forcible means; to take severe or violent measures with.

   to urge an ore with intense heat

7. (transitive) To press onward or forward.
8. (transitive) To be pressing in argument; to insist; to persist.

Conjugation

Conjugation of urge

infinitive	(to) urge
	present tense	past tense
1st-person singular	urge	urged
2nd-person singular	urge, urgest†	urged, urgedst†
3rd-person singular	urges, urgeth†	urged
plural	urge
subjunctive	urge	urged
imperative	urge	—
participles	urging	urged

^†Archaic or obsolete.

Synonyms

• (impel): impel, animate, encourage, stimulate
• (pressure mentally): instigate

Related terms

• urgent

Translations

to press, push, drive

• Arabic: حَثَّ‎ (ḥaṯṯa)
• Bengali: সামনে অগ্রসর করা (samone ogrosor kora)
• Bulgarian: подтиквам (bg) (podtikvam)
• Cherokee: ᎦᏂᎳᏗᎠ (ganiladia)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 催促 (zh) (cuīcù)

• Dutch: duwen (nl), aanzetten (nl)
• Esperanto: urĝi
• Finnish: ajaa (fi)
• French: pousser (fr), inciter (fr)
• German: drängen (de), mahnen (de), treiben (de)
• Hungarian: ösztönöz (hu), ösztökél (hu), serkent (hu), nógat (hu), unszol (hu), buzdít (hu)
• Ido: urjigar
• Italian: incoraggiare (it), fare pressione
• Japanese: 催促する (ja) (さいそくする, saisoku suru)
• Latin: hortor (la)
• Latvian: skubināt
• Portuguese: impelir (pt)
• Russian: подгоня́ть (ru) impf (podgonjátʹ), подстёгивать (ru) impf (podstjógivatʹ), побужда́ть (ru) impf (pobuždátʹ), подстрека́ть (ru) impf (podstrekátʹ), подта́лкивать (ru) impf (podtálkivatʹ)
• Sanskrit: सुवति (sa) (suvati)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Spanish: impulsar (es), urgir (es), aguijonear (es), apresurar (es), presionar (es), empujar (es), apremiar (es), aguijar (es), jalear (es)
• Telugu: వత్తిడి (te) (vattiḍi)
• Turkish: ittirmek (tr)

to press the mind or will of

• Bulgarian: убеждавам (bg) (ubeždavam)
• Dutch: aansporen (nl)
• Finnish: painostaa (fi)
• French: inciter (fr)
• German: anspornen (de)
• Greek: παροτρύνω (el) (parotrýno)
• Hungarian: ösztönöz (hu)
• Italian: invitare (it), esortare (it)
• Japanese: せきたてる (sekitateru)
• Latin: hortor (la)
• Latvian: skubināt
• Maori: ungaunga
• Portuguese: urgir (pt)
• Russian: убежда́ть (ru) impf (ubeždátʹ), сове́товать (ru) impf (sovétovatʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Spanish: impeler (es), instar (es), incitar (es), ahincar (es), aguijar (es), alentar (es), espolear (es)
• Telugu: వత్తిడి తెచ్చు (vattiḍi teccu)
• Vietnamese: hối (vi), thúc (vi), giục (vi)
• Welsh: annog (cy)

to provoke

• Bulgarian: подбуждам (bg) (podbuždam)
• Dutch: provoceren (nl)
• Finnish: raivostuttaa (fi)
• French: provoquer (fr)
• German: provozieren (de)
• Italian: provocare (it)
• Portuguese: provocar (pt)
• Russian: провоци́ровать (ru) impf (provocírovatʹ), подстрека́ть (ru) impf (podstrekátʹ)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Spanish: provocar (es), incitar (es)
• Telugu: కోపము తెచ్చు (kōpamu teccu)

to present in an urgent manner

• Bulgarian: настоявам (bg) (nastojavam)
• Dutch: aandringen (nl)
• Finnish: kiirehtiä (fi)
• Hungarian: sürget (hu), siettet (hu), szorgalmaz, unszol (hu), hajt (hu)
• Italian: insistere (it)
• Japanese: 急き立てる (せきたてる, sekitateru)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Telugu: బలవంత పెట్టు (balavanta peṭṭu)

(obsolete) to treat with forcible means

to press onward or forward

• Finnish: ajaa (fi)
• Italian: pressare (it)
• Portuguese: apressar (pt)
• Telugu: ముందుకు నెట్టు (munduku neṭṭu)

to be pressing in argument; to insist

• Bulgarian: настоявам (bg) (nastojavam)
• Finnish: vaatia (fi), kehottaa (fi)
• French: insister (fr)
• Italian: insistere (it)
• Japanese: 催促する (ja) (さいそくする, saisoku suru)
• Portuguese: insistir (pt)
• Scottish Gaelic: coitich
• Spanish: instar (es)
• Telugu: వాదించు (te) (vādiñcu)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• German: (1,2,4) ^{(please verify)} drängen (de), (1) ^{(please verify)} antreiben (de)
• Irish: ^{(please verify)} spreag
• Italian: ^{(please verify)} esortare (it)
• Korean: ^{(please verify)} 재촉하다 (ko) (jaechokhada)
• Old English: ^{(please verify)} manian
• Spanish: ^{(please verify)} urgir (es)
• Swedish: ^{(please verify)} uppmana (sv)

See also

• surge

Anagrams

• Guer., Ruge, geru, grue, regu

French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Verb

urge

1. third-person singular present indicative of urger

Anagrams

• grue

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈur.d͡ʒe/
• Rhymes: -urdʒe
• Syllabification: ùr‧ge

Verb

urge

1. third-person singular present indicative of urgere

Latin

Verb

urgē

1. second-person singular present active imperative of urgeō

Portuguese

Verb

urge

1. inflection of urgir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative

Spanish

Verb

urge

1. inflection of urgir:
   1. third-person singular present indicative
   2. second-person singular imperative