importunate

[ im-pawr-chuh-nit ]
See synonyms for: importunateimportunatelyimportunateness on Thesaurus.com

adjective
  1. urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.

  2. pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.

  1. troublesome; annoying: importunate demands from the children for attention.

Origin of importunate

1
1520–30; importune (adj.) + -ate1

Other words from importunate

  • im·por·tu·nate·ly, adverb
  • im·por·tu·nate·ness, noun
  • un·im·por·tu·nate, adjective
  • un·im·por·tu·nate·ly, adverb
  • un·im·por·tu·nate·ness, noun

Words Nearby importunate

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use importunate in a sentence

  • Wordsworth has illustrated how an unwise and importunate demand for a reason from a child may drive him into invention.

    Children's Ways | James Sully
  • Another rap, louder and more importunate, echoed through the large room.

    The World Before Them | Susanna Moodie
  • "My men and I have a devilish importunate creditor," said he, slapping his stomach.

    Repertory Of The Comedie Humaine, Complete, A -- Z | Anatole Cerfberr and Jules Franois Christophe
  • Somewhere near her feet the cricket gave out an importunate chirp.

    The Dragon Painter | Mary McNeil Fenollosa
  • The memories of that time, and of the importunate thoughts that had haunted him then, at the opening of life, returned to him now.

British Dictionary definitions for importunate

importunate

/ (ɪmˈpɔːtjʊnɪt) /


adjective
  1. persistent or demanding; insistent

  2. rare troublesome; annoying

Derived forms of importunate

  • importunately, adverb
  • importunateness, noun

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