Added 5 October 2026
importunity
/ˌɪmpəˈtjuːnɪti/ noun
Latin root: importūnitās Wiktionary
noun Definition from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). Pronunciation from Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org. More about importunity at Wordnik → Where our words come from →
- Constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; an instance of this.
- The fact of being at an inappropriate or unsuitable time; unseasonableness. Persistence in behaviour; determination, perseverance, stubbornness. The quality of being annoying or troublesome; difficulty, trouble; an instance of this.
- The fact of being at an inappropriate or unsuitable time; unseasonableness.
Origin
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).
From Wiktionary, via Kaikki.org (CC BY-SA)