pertinence

[ pur-tn-uhns ]

noun

1. the fact or quality of being directly and significantly related to the matter at hand; relevance:

   The sheer quantity of health information on the Internet makes it challenging for users to judge the pertinence, credibility, and applicability of what is retrieved.

Other Words From

• non·per·ti·nence noun
• non·per·ti·nen·cy noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of pertinence¹

First recorded in 1350–1400, for an earlier sense; pertin(ent) ( def ) + -ence ( def )

Example Sentences

In the New Yorker, Pankaj Mishra explained Fanon’s pertinence in the moment: “One measure of Fanon’s clairvoyance — and the glacial pace of progress — is that, in its sixtieth year, ‘The Wretched of the Earth’ remains a vital guide both to the tenacity of white supremacy in the West and to the moral and intellectual failures of the ‘darker nations.’

From Los Angeles Times

Jamie Foxx, inexplicably named The Ferryman, is around to provide Bob with tattoos and ammunition, and an almost unrecognizable January Jones appears briefly as a sneering drunk whose pertinence remains vague — at least to anyone as numbed by the film’s viciousness as I was.

From New York Times

Hence the pertinence of Nuremberg, where in 1946 the first of the charges against some Nazi defendants was of aggression, which the tribunal called “the supreme international crime” because “it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”

From Washington Post

The Reds' failed bid four years ago will be of most pertinence to the Gunners, given it was Manchester City, Arsenal's closest title rivals, who overhauled them.

From BBC

No one is questioning the legality or pertinence of allowing divergent viewpoints.

From Washington Times