importune
[ im-pawr-toon, -tyoon, im-pawr-chuhn ]
/ ˌɪm pɔrˈtun, -ˈtyun, ɪmˈpɔr tʃən /
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verb (used with object), im·por·tuned, im·por·tun·ing.
verb (used without object), im·por·tuned, im·por·tun·ing.
to make urgent or persistent solicitations.
to make improper advances toward another person.
adjective
RELATED WORDS
beset, press, crave, persuade, plead, hound, badger, sell, nag, pray, pester, implore, solicit, appeal, urge, invoke, besiege, plague, ask, beseech
Nearby words
- importee,
- importer,
- importunacy,
- importunate,
- importunately,
- importunity,
- impose,
- impose on,
- imposing,
- imposing stone
Origin of importune
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
Examples from the Web for importuning
importune
/ (ɪmˈpɔːtjuːn) /
verb (tr)
to harass with persistent requests; demand of (someone) insistently
to beg for persistently; request with insistence
obsolete
- to anger or annoy
- to force; impel
Word Origin for importune
C16: from Latin importūnus tiresome, from im- in- 1 + -portūnus as in opportūnus opportune
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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importune
1520s, back-formation from importunity, or else from Middle French importuner, from Medieval Latin importunari "to make oneself troublesome," from Latin importunus "unfit, troublesome," originally "having no harbor" (i.e. "difficult to access"), from assimilated form of in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + portus "harbor" (see port (n.1)). Related: Importuned; importuning. As an adjective from early 15c.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper