Synonyms/Hypernyms (Ordered by Estimated Frequency) of verb propel

2 senses of propel

Sense 1
propel, impel -- (cause to move forward with force; "Steam propels this ship")
       => move, displace -- (cause to move or shift into a new position or place, both in a concrete and in an abstract sense; "Move those boxes into the corner, please"; "I'm moving my money to another bank"; "The director moved more responsibilities onto his new assistant")

Sense 2
motivate, actuate, propel, move, prompt, incite -- (give an incentive for action; "This moved me to sacrifice my career")
       => cause, do, make -- (give rise to; cause to happen or occur, not always intentionally; "cause a commotion"; "make a stir"; "cause an accident")