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definitions

pertinent

[pur-tn-uhnt]
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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pertinent ON THESAURUS.COM

adjective

pertaining or relating directly and significantly to the matter at hand; relevant: pertinent details.

RELATED WORDS

relevance, importance, purpose, applicability, congruity

Origin of pertinent

1350–1400; Middle English < Latin pertinent- (stem of pertinēns), present participle of pertinēre to pertain; see -ent
Related formsper·ti·nence, per·ti·nen·cy, nounper·ti·nent·ly, adverbnon·per·ti·nence, nounnon·per·ti·nen·cy, nounnon·per·ti·nent, adjectivenon·per·ti·nent·ly, adverbun·per·ti·nent, adjectiveun·per·ti·nent·ly, adverb

Synonyms for pertinent

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR pertinent ON THESAURUS.COM
appropriate, fitting, fit, suitable, applicable.

Synonym study

See apt.

Antonyms for pertinent

irrelevant.
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for pertinence

Historical Examples of pertinence

  • There is integrity to design, consistence and pertinence, and there are aesthetic qualities.

  • I shall attempt only a brief mention of those excerpts, to show their pertinence.

  • The reader of his articles, political or social, cannot fail to be struck with the pertinence of his quotations and illustrations.

    Hugh Miller

    William Keith Leask

  • But there was pertinence in the young woman's question; where was he going, indeed?

    Idolatry

    Julian Hawthorne

  • The last part is a psychological blunder, has no pertinence to the question, and is not what Hamilton was groping for.

British Dictionary definitions for pertinence

pertinent

adjective

relating to the matter at hand; relevant
Derived Formspertinence, nounpertinently, adverb

Word Origin for pertinent

C14: from Latin pertinēns, from pertinēre to pertain
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
Word Origin and History for pertinence
n.

1650s, from French pertenance or formed in English from pertinent + -ence.

pertinent

adj.

late 14c., from Anglo-French purtinaunt (late 13c.), Old French partenant (mid-13c.) and directly from Latin pertinentem (nominative pertinens) "pertaining," present participle of pertinere "to relate, concern" (see pertain). Related: Pertinently.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper