importunate

[ im-pawr-chuh-nit ]

adjective

1. urgent or persistent in solicitation, sometimes annoyingly so.
2. pertinacious, as solicitations or demands.
3. troublesome; annoying:

   importunate demands from the children for attention.

importunate

/ ɪmˈpɔːtjʊnɪt /

adjective

1. persistent or demanding; insistent
2. rare.
   troublesome; annoying

Derived Forms

• imˈportunately, adverb
• imˈportunateness, noun

Other Words From

• 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

Word History and Origins

Origin of importunate¹

1520–30; importune (adj.) + -ate ¹

Example Sentences

All these filmmakers’ needy, importunate wooing of their writers — and their eventual dickering over script credit — makes their courtship of actual women such as Candice Bergen or Amy Irving look halfhearted by comparison.

From Los Angeles Times

Far from brutal mercenaries, the fighters are portrayed as heroes, going beyond the call of duty to help importunate countries fend off chaos agents often linked to the West, which is held in disdain.

From Los Angeles Times

“He seems very importunate, sir. I have never seen him so eager. I don’t know but what, if you don’t see him soon, he will have one of his violent fits.”

From Literature

On the face of it, they satisfied an importunate US last week by banning the Chinese telecoms firm Huawei from doing business in Britain.

From The Guardian

As Emma’s plans stutter forward and amusingly slip off course, the filmmakers’ mild interventions feel less forced, more organic; even a seductive dance and an importunate nosebleed end up working nicely.

From New York Times