importunity
Americannoun
plural
importunities-
the state or quality of being importunate; persistence in solicitation.
-
importunities, importunate solicitations or demands.
Etymology
Origin of importunity
1425–75; late Middle English importunite < Latin importūnitās. See importune, -ity
Explanation
Importunity is when you beg someone to do something. "Please, please take me to the mall!" is probably something said by many teens with importunity. The adjective importunate describes a plea that is so persistent or demanding that it becomes annoying. You can use the noun importunity to describe an example of this kind of pleading. You might ask for a bite of your friend's dessert with importunity, moaning about how hungry you are and how deliciously fudgy her chocolate cake looks. The root of importunity is the Latin importunitatem, which means "unsuitableness or incivility," and comes from importunus, "unfit or troublesome."
Vocabulary lists containing importunity
"The Story of an Hour" by Kate Chopin
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"Of Plymouth Plantation," Vocabulary from the historical account
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"The Story of an Hour"
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Is the almost whimsical Morrow importunity an ideal substitute for angry notes and troops along the border?
From Time Magazine Archive
Her looks and ability soon bring success and a suitor, a white, amiable young financier whose importunity will not hear honest Mimi's tragic secret.
From Time Magazine Archive
Here the gentlemen interposed with earnest petitions to be further enlightened on these two last-named points; but they got only blushes, ejaculations, tremors, and titters, in return for their importunity.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
He had assented to his imprisonment, because he was weary of his importunity; but he still retained a kindly feeling towards him, and was evidently grieved at the serious nature of his illness.
From Witch, Warlock, and Magician Historical Sketches of Magic and Witchcraft in England and Scotland by Adams, W. H. Davenport (William Henry Davenport)
In spite of the "changes"—and they are very perceptible—the old enchantment of Rome, taking its own good time, steals over you and possesses you, till it becomes really almost a nuisance and an importunity.
From The Letters of Henry James (volume I) by James, Henry
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
