- push
- push vb Push, shove, thrust, propel mean to use force upon a thing so as to make it move ahead or aside.Push implies the application of force by a body (as a person) already in contact with the body to be moved onward, aside, or out of the way{
push a wheelbarrow along the road
}{push a door open
}{push a man over a cliff
}{an extra locomotive was needed at the rear to push the long train up the grade
}{push the excited children into another room
}Shove often differs from push in carrying a stronger implication of the exercise of muscular strength and of forcing something along a surface{the boys shoved the furniture up against the walls
}{I picked him up trying to shove in the front door. There wouldn't been any door in a minute— Hellman
}Often, when muscular exertion is not strongly implied, haste or roughness or rudeness in pushing is suggested{shoved the paper into his pocket
}{shove the articles on the desk into a box
}{shove a person out of one's way
}{I can't say that I took the drink. It got shoved into my hand— Warren
}Thrust differs from push in carrying a weaker implication of steadiness or continu- ousness in the application of force and a stronger suggestion of rapidity in the movement effected or of violence in the force that is used; often the use of actual physical force is not clearly implied{Abraham . . . thrust the old man out of his tent— Taylor
}{thrust her hands in her coat pockets in a coquettish pose— Wouk
}Often, also, it implies the sudden and forcible pushing (as of a weapon, implement, or instrument) so that it enters into the thing aimed at{thrust a spear into an opponent's breast
}{thrusting their money into a stranger's hand— Wolfe
}Propel implies a driving forward or onward by a force or power that imparts motion. In some use it implies pressure exerted from outside or behind, usually by some power that is not human{the flow of air which propels the slow-sailing clouds— Lowes
}{she walked—as if she were being propelled from the outside, by a force that she neither knew nor could control— Taté
}Additionally, it is the usual term when the use of a mechanical aid or of an actuating power (as steam or electrical power) is implied{ships propelled by steam
}{a galley propelled by fifty oars
}{automobiles are usually propelled by internal-combustion engines
}In extended uses push implies a pressing or urging forward (as with insistence, with vigor, or with impetuousness) so that one's end may be gained, one's work may be completed, or one's goal be reached{push the nation into war
}{push a theory to an extreme
}{he directed a yearlong probe . . . then pushed through sweeping reforms— Armbrister
}Shove often suggests obtrusiveness or intrusiveness or lack of finesse in attaining an end or making a way for oneself or another{shove oneself into society
}{shoving the boring tiring jobs off onto other people— Ann Bridgey
}Thrust implies a forcing upon others of some-thing that is not wanted, desired, or sought for{some have greatness thrust upon 'em— Shak.
}{Amy had a grievance . . . because Sophia had recently thrust upon her a fresh method of cooking green vegetables— Bennett
}Propel is sometimes used in place of impel when a strong inner urge or appetite is implied as pushing one on, especially toward what one desires{anxiety is not the only force that propels us, but it is surely one of the most potent— Binger
}Analogous words: *move, drive, impel: *force, compel, constrain, oblige
New Dictionary of Synonyms. 2014.
