Tending to or capable of propelling. Synonyms:propellant, propellent, propelling."The faster a jet plane goes the greater its propulsive efficiency" , "Universities...the seats of propulsive thought"
... generalized picture, for example, supporting the play of action, is one in which Balzac particularly delights. He constantly uses it, he makes it serve his purpose with a very high hand. It becomes more than a support, it becomes a kind of propulsive force applied to the action at the start. Its value is seen at its greatest in such books as Le Cure de Village, Pere Goriot, La Recherche de l'Absolu, Eugenie Grandet—most of all, perhaps, in this last. Wherever, ... — The Craft of Fiction • Percy Lubbock