pertinence

Sometimes per·ti·nen·cy

[pur-tn-uhns]

noun

1. the fact or quality of being directly and significantly related to the matter at hand; relevance.

   The sheer quantity of health information on the Internet makes it challenging for users to judge the pertinence, credibility, and applicability of what is retrieved.

Other Word Forms

• nonpertinence noun
• nonpertinency noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pertinence¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; pertin(ent) ( def. ) + -ence ( def. )

Example Sentences

Sometimes that’s because the individual work is bland, while elsewhere its pertinence to the shambling theme is stretched to the breaking point.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

He referenced the city’s founding by the Muscogee Creek native people, the area’s oil boom and the 1921 race massacre that only recently resurfaced in the national conversation as evidence of its cultural pertinence.

Read more on Salon

What’s more, they’re intimately knowledgeable of history, able to yank references from the past and stress their pertinence to our present.

Read more on Salon

The Reds' failed bid four years ago will be of most pertinence to the Gunners, given it was Manchester City, Arsenal's closest title rivals, who overhauled them.

Read more on BBC

No one is questioning the legality or pertinence of allowing divergent viewpoints.

Read more on Washington Times