Impulsive means acting on sudden urges without thinking through the consequences first. When you're impulsive, you do things the moment they pop into your head, like blurting out an answer before raising your hand or spending all your allowance on candy without considering that you wanted to save up for something bigger.

Being impulsive isn't always bad. Sometimes quick decisions work out great, like when you impulsively join a pickup basketball game and end up having a blast. But impulsive choices can backfire. An impulsive student might start writing an essay without planning it out, then realize halfway through that their ideas don't connect well. An impulsive shopper buys things they don't really need and later regrets it.

The opposite of impulsive is deliberate or thoughtful. Someone who's deliberate pauses to consider options before acting. Most people are impulsive sometimes and thoughtful other times. The key is recognizing which situations call for quick action and which ones benefit from slowing down to think things through. When your friend makes an impulsive decision to adopt three kittens without asking their parents first, you can probably predict how that conversation ends.