importunity
Syllables: im·por·tun·i·tyUK/ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti//ˌɪmpəɹˈt(j)unɪti/
importunity noun: constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this.
Noun
importunity (countable and uncountable, plural importunities)
- Constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this.
- And he [Jesus] ſayde vnto thẽ [them]: which of you ſhall have a frende and ſhall goo to hym att mydnyght⸝ and ſaye vnto hym: frende lende me foure loves for a frende of myne is come out off the waye to me⸝ and I have nothynge to ſett before hĩ [him]⸝ And he within ſhall andſwer and ſaye: Trouble me...1526, [William Tyndale, transl.], The Newe Testamẽt […] (Tyndale Bible), [Worms, Germany: Peter Schöffer], →OCLC, The Gospell off S. Luke xj:[5–8], folio xciiij, recto
- Of a ſuretie, it is a ioyfull thynge to reioyce in the chyldhode of chyldren, but it is a ryght cruel thing to ſuffre the importunities of their mothers.1531 March 20 (date written; Gregorian calendar), [Antonio de Guevara], “The Answere of M. Themperour, whan Faustine His Wife Demaunded the Key of His Study”, in John Bourcher knyghte Lord Barners...
- The fact of being at an inappropriate or unsuitable time; unseasonableness.
- Speake not, where there is no audyence: and poure not forth wyſzdome out of tyme, at an importunyte.1535 October 14 (Gregorian calendar), Myles Coverdale, transl., Biblia: The Byble, […] (Coverdale Bible), [Cologne or Marburg]: [Eucharius Cervicornus and Johannes Soter?], →OCLC, Ecclesiasticus...
- It is one of the moſt vexatious Mortifications perhaps, of a Sober, and a Studious Mans Life, to have his Thoughts Diſorder'd, and the very Chain of his Reaſon Diſcompos'd, by the Importunity of a Tedious, and an Impertinent Viſit.1692, Roger L’Estrange, “[The Fables of Abstemius, &c.] Fab[le] CCCXXVIII. An Impertinent and a Philosopher [Reflexion].”, in Fables, of Æsop and Other Eminent Mythologists: […], London: […]...
- Persistence in behaviour; determination, perseverance, stubbornness.
- I beſech the [thee] with what colours coude more workmanly haue be paynteth and ſet out eyther venymous entycementes and wanton pleaſures of the poyſoned fleſſhe⸝ prouokyng ⁊ temptynge the ſoule to fylthynes of ſynne⸝ or elſe the importunytye of the ſame cryenge and ſtryuyng agaynſt the ſpiryte⸝ or...1533 November 25 (Gregorian calendar), Erasmus of Roterdame, “Of Thre Partes of Man⸝ the Spiryte⸝ the Soule⸝ and the Flesshe”, in [William Tyndale], transl., A Booke Called in Latyn Enchiridion...
- [S]uch vague memories hang about the mind like cobwebs, with tickling importunity—best to sweep them away at a dash: […]1862 July – 1863 August, George Eliot [pseudonym; Mary Ann Evans], “A Man’s Ransom”, in Romola. […], volume I, London: Smith, Elder and Co., […], published 1863, →OCLC, book I, page 157
- The quality of being annoying or troublesome; difficulty, trouble; (countable) an instance of this.
- [V]ery often the Importunity and Violence of the Cough vvas to be appeaſed by Elixir Aſthmaticum, Diacodium, &c.1750, John Huxham, “Of the Peripneumony and Pleuro-peripneumony”, in An Essay on Fevers, and Their Various Kinds, as Depending on Different Constitutions of the Blood: […], London: […] S. Austen...
importunity meaning in Tamil, Urdu and Punjabi
importunity in Tamil
- அலட்டு, விடாத்தொந்தரை, ஊர்ச்சிதம், கரகரப்பு
importunity in Urdu
- تقاضا
importunity in Punjabi
- importunity
- ਤਾਕੀਦ tākīd
Examples of importunity in a sentence
- Then vvay vvhat loſſe your honor may ſuſtaine / If vvith too credent eare you liſt his ſongs / Or looſe your hart, or your chaſt treaſure open / To his vnmaſtred importunity.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, The Tragicall Historie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke: […] (Second Quarto), London: […]...
- [B]eing ſurrounded vvith importunity, and no longer able to ſatisfy every requeſt that vvas made him, instead of money he gave promiſes.1766, [Oliver Goldsmith], “A Migration. The Fortunate Circumstances of Our Lives are Generally Found at Last to be of Our Own Procuring.”...
- […] Linton clung to his cousin, and implored her to accompany him, with a frantic importunity that admitted no denial.1847 December, Ellis Bell [pseudonym; Emily Brontë], chapter XIII, in Wuthering Heights: […], volume II, London: Thomas Cautley Newby, […]...
- But when she turned her thoughts to Morningside Park she perceived the tangled skein of life was now to be further complicated by his romantic importunity.1909 October, H[erbert] G[eorge] Wells, “The Sapphire Ring”, in Ann Veronica: A Modern Love Story, 1st American edition, New York, N.Y....
Forms of importunity
| plural | importunities |
|---|
Origin of importunity
From Late Middle English importunitie, importunyte (“insistence, persistence; grievance; hardship, trouble; inappropriateness (?)”), from Anglo-Norman importunité, and Middle French importunité (“persistent demand; hardship, trouble; something difficult or troublesome; inappropriateness”) (modern French importunité), and their etymon Latin importūnitās (“insolence, rudeness; oppressiveness, relentlessness; unfitness, unsuitableness”), from importūnus (“annoying; rude; inconvenient; unsuitable”) + -tās (suffix forming feminine abstract nouns denoting states of being). Importūnus is derived from im- (a variant of in- (prefix meaning ‘not’) + portus (“harbour, port; haven, refuge”) (ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *pértus (“crossing”), from *per- (“to carry forth, fare; to dare, try; to go through;”)) + -nus (suffix forming adjectives). By surface analysis, importune + -ity (suffix forming abstract nouns from adjectives, referring to the state of conforming to what the adjectives describe).
Words that rhyme with importunity
Questions about importunity
- What does importunity mean?
- Importunity means constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this.
- What is importunity in Tamil?
- Importunity in Tamil is அலட்டு, விடாத்தொந்தரை, ஊர்ச்சிதம். See Importunity meaning in Tamil.
- How do you use importunity in a sentence?
- Then vvay vvhat loſſe your honor may ſuſtaine / If vvith too credent eare you liſt his ſongs / Or looſe your hart, or your chaſt treaſure open / To his vnmaſtred importunity.
- What part of speech is importunity?
- Importunity is a noun.
- How do you pronounce importunity?
- Importunity is pronounced /ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti/ (UK).
- What is the plural of importunity?
- The plural of importunity is importunities.
Words near importunity in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: importunity (page history and authors); importunity (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); importunity (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ਤਾਕੀਦ (Punjabi) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-NaomiAmethyst-importunity.wav.
Cite this entry: “importunity.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/importunity. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.