Urge Meaning
/ɜːd͡ʒ/Definition, CEFR level B2, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA strong desire to do something.
verbTo press; to push; to drive; to impel; to force onward.
Sentence Examples
Advertisements urge us to buy luxuries.
All forms of life have an instinctive urge to survive.
I strongly urge you to do so.
CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt a sudden ____ to eat chocolate, even though he was on a strict diet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a sudden ____ to call his mother and tell her about the great news he had received this morning today.
Word Origin & History
From Latin urgeō (“urge”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"Unless I’m wrong / I but obey / The urge of a song: / I’m—bound—away!"
— 1962, Robert Frost, “Away!”, in In the Clearing:
"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[…]"
— 1703, Statius, translated by Alexander Pope, edited by William Charles Macready, Thebais, London: Bradbury & Evans, translation of original in Classical Latin, published 1849, page 129:
"No longer do we tack and tack obediently to the demand of the Valkyries. A new power urges our ships independently of wind and tide. With the growth of steam power the crowning glory of the old ship departed."
— 1922, Holbrook Jackson, “Ships and the Sea”, in Occasions, page 128:
""The initial results in California speak for themselves. We will continue to investigate and the USDOT urges all states to revoke illegally issued CDLs. This initiative ensures our roads are safer for American families.""
— 2025 November 14, Sam Stevenson, “California To Revoke Thousands of Driver’s Licenses”, in Newsweek:
"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."
— c. 1606–1607 (date written), 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], page 345, column 2, lines 51–57:
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CEFR Practice Quiz
He felt a sudden ____ to eat chocolate, even though he was on a strict diet.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
He felt a sudden ____ to call his mother and tell her about the great news he had received this morning today.