- not pertinent or suitable
- not showing proper respect or manners; insolent; impudent
Origin of impertinent
Old French from Late Latin impertinensimpertinent
im·per·ti·nent
adjective
- An example of impertinent behavior is interrupting when someone else is talking.
- An example of impertinent is the mention of how much a person earns when a group is discussing the next steps of a project.
The definition of impertinent is someone or something who is rude, disrespectful or does or says something that does not relate to the current conversation.
YourDictionary definition and usage example. Copyright © 2018 by LoveToKnow Corp
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"impertinent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent>.
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impertinent. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent
impertinent
Webster's New World College Dictionary, Fifth Edition Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"impertinent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent>.
APA Style
impertinent. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent
impertinent
adjective
- Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold: scolded the impertinent child for talking rudely.
- Not pertinent: See Synonyms at irrelevant.
Origin of impertinent
Middle English irrelevant from Old French from Late Latin impertinēns impertinent-Latin in- not ; see in- 1. Latin pertinēns pertinent ; see pertinent .Related Forms:
- im·per′ti·nent·ly
adverb
THE AMERICAN HERITAGE® DICTIONARY OF THE ENGLISH LANGUAGE, FIFTH EDITION by the Editors of the American Heritage Dictionaries. Copyright © 2016, 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
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MLA Style
"impertinent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent>.
APA Style
impertinent. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent
Adjective
(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.
Noun
(plural impertinents)
- An impertinent individual.
Origin
From Old French impertinent
English Wiktionary. Available under CC-BY-SA license.
Link to this page
Cite this page
MLA Style
"impertinent." YourDictionary, n.d. Web. 15 February 2019. <https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent>.
APA Style
impertinent. (n.d.). Retrieved February 15th, 2019, from https://www.yourdictionary.com/Impertinent
