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/
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Audio (US) (file)
Adjective
impertinent (comparative more impertinent, superlative most impertinent)
- insolent, ill-mannered
- 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
- See also Wikisaurus:cheeky
Translations
insolent, ill-mannered
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irrelevant
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Dutch
↑Jump back a sectionFrench
Pronunciation
-
Audio (Paris) (file)
Adjective
impertinent m (feminine impertinente, masculine plural impertinents, feminine plural impertinentes)
Antonyms
German
Adjective
impertinent (comparative impertinenter, superlative am impertinentesten)
Related terms
Declension
positive forms of impertinent
comparative forms of impertinent
superlative forms of impertinent