impertinent

English

Pronunciation

  • (UK) IPA: /ɪm.ˈpɜː.tɪ.nənt/, X-SAMPA: /Im."p3:.tI.nənt/
  • (US) IPA: /ɪm.ˈpɝ.tɨ.nənt/, X-SAMPA: /Im."p3`.tI.n@nt/
  • (file)

Adjective

impertinent (comparative more impertinent, superlative most impertinent)

  1. insolent, ill-mannered
  2. irrelevant (opposite of pertinent)

Usage notes

Although, historically, definition 2 was the original (derived from the French below) usage; meaning gradually changed to definition 1. More recently general usage has come to, once again, incorporate definition 2. As many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect, avoiding the word altogether may be advisable. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.

Synonyms

Translations


↑Jump back a section

French

Pronunciation

  • (file)

Adjective

impertinent m (feminine impertinente, masculine plural impertinents, feminine plural impertinentes)

  1. irrelevant

Antonyms


↑Jump back a section

German

Adjective

impertinent (comparative impertinenter, superlative am impertinentesten)

  1. insolent, ill-mannered

Related terms

Declension

↑Jump back a section
Last modified on 4 May 2013, at 22:44