importune

American  

[im-pawr-toon, -tyoon, im-pawr-chuhn] / ˌɪm pɔrˈtun, -ˈtyun, ɪmˈpɔr tʃən /

verb (used with object)

importuned, importuning

1. to press or beset with solicitations; demand with urgency or persistence.

   Synonyms:

   solicit, supplicate, implore, entreat, beseech

2. to make improper advances toward (a person).

3. to beg for (something) urgently or persistently.

   Synonyms:

   solicit, supplicate, implore, entreat, beseech

4. Obsolete. to annoy.

5. Obsolete. to press; impel.

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verb (used without object)

importuned, importuning

1. to make urgent or persistent solicitations.

   Synonyms:

   plead

2. to make improper advances toward another person.

adjective

1. importunate.

importune British  

/ ɪmˈpɔːtjuːn /

verb

1. to harass with persistent requests; demand of (someone) insistently

2. to beg for persistently; request with insistence

3. obsolete

   1. to anger or annoy

   2. to force; impel

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Other Word Forms

• importunely adverb
• importuner noun
• importunity noun
• unimportuned adjective

Etymology

Origin of importune

1350–1400; Middle English (adj.) < Latin importūnus unsuitable, troublesome, relentless; im- ², opportune

Explanation

Sure, to importune is to beg, but use it only when you're talking about going beyond mere begging into more urgent territory. The woman importuned the judge to release her innocent brother from jail. The original Latin term actually meant something closer to "to bother." Bear that in mind when you're deciding whether to use importune, because that's the kind of begging you'd want to be talking about when you do. Imagine needing something so badly that you cannot stop asking for it: then you might importune someone to get it. After a year of being importuned, dad let me have the car.

Example Sentences

In the Book of Samuel, Israelites importune its eponymous judge to “Give us a king to rule over us, like all the other nations.”

From Salon • Mar. 31, 2024

“The needs are too great. And if we pass a strong package with strong bipartisan support, it will importune the House somehow or other to act, despite the morass they are in.”

From Washington Times • Oct. 16, 2023

They aren’t here to importune men for anything.

From Slate • Jan. 7, 2019

And too many of the works are so large, and importune the visitor so aggressively, that one feels hectored by hectares of art.

From Washington Post • Sep. 13, 2015

And at the same time I fear to importune it too much, because I do not know what might happen then.

From "All Quiet on the Western Front: A Novel" by Erich Maria Remarque