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importune

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importune¹

  • /ɪmpɔːˈtjuːn/ UK
  • /ɪmˈpɔːtjuːn/ UK
  • /ɪmpɔɹˈtuːn/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle French importuner and its etymon Medieval Latin importūnor (“to make oneself troublesome”), from Latin importūnus (“unfit, troublesome”), originally "having no harbor".

verb importunes · importuning · importuned

  1. transitive To bother, irritate, trouble. To deliberate, be it but in slight matters, doth importune me.
  2. transitive To harass with persistent requests. Gentlemen, importune me no farther, / For hovv I firmly am reſolu'd you knovv: / That is, not to beſtovv my yongeſt daughter, / Before I haue a husband for the elder: […]
  3. transitive To approach to offer one's services as a prostitute, or otherwise make improper proposals.
  4. obsolete, transitive To import; to signify. It importunes death.

importune²

  • /ɪmpɔːˈtjuːn/ UK
  • /ɪmˈpɔːtjuːn/ UK
  • /ɪmpɔɹˈtuːn/ US

Where it comes from

From Middle English importune, inportune, from Anglo-Norman and Middle French importun and its etymon Classical Latin importūnus.

adjective more importune · most importune

  1. obsolete Grievous, severe, exacting. And therewithall he fiercely at him flew, / And with importune outrage him assayld [...].
  2. obsolete Inopportune; unseasonable.
  3. obsolete Troublesome; vexatious; persistent. And their importune fates all satisfide.

noun importunes

  1. obsolete Synonym of importuner. And yet in ſome Courts it is otherwiſe vſed, for in Spaine it is thought very vndecent for a Courtier to craue, ſuppoſing that it is the part of an importune: […]

    Similar: importuner

Translations

Every language

verb to harass with persistent requests

Españolimportunar
Portuguêsimportunar, incomodar
Deutschbedrängen, belästigen
Русскийдомога́ться domogátʹsja, надоеда́ть nadojedátʹ, приставать pristavatʹ

verb to make improper proposals

Españolprostituirse

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Cite this
MLA

"importune." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/importune. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

importune. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/importune

Chicago

"importune." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/importune.

BibTeX
@misc{importune_2026,
  title = {importune},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/importune},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}