irresistible impulse test n: a test used in some jurisdictions when considering an insanity defense that involves a determination of whether an impulse to commit a criminal act was irresistible due to mental disease or defect regardless of whether the defendant knew right from wrong compare diminished capacity, durham rule, m'naghten test, substantial capacity test
Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam-Webster. 1996.