Definition of IMPERIOUSNESS

Examples of imperious in a Sentence

an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do
an imperious movie star who thinks she's some sort of goddess

Recent Examples of imperious from the Web

The preteen girls are fascinated; the teenagers, particularly Alicia (Elle Fanning), practice their flirtation skills; and the two teachers, imperious Martha and lonely Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), struggle to hide their own fascination.

— moira macdonald, charlotteobserver, "Movie review: In ‘The Beguiled,’ a girls school turns out to be an unsafe refuge," 28 June 2017
The preteen girls are fascinated; the teenagers, particularly Alicia (Elle Fanning), practice their flirtation skills; and the two teachers, imperious Martha and lonely Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), struggle to hide their own fascination.

— moira macdonald, charlotteobserver, "Movie review: In ‘The Beguiled,’ a girls school turns out to be an unsafe refuge," 28 June 2017
The preteen girls are fascinated; the teenagers, particularly Alicia (Elle Fanning), practice their flirtation skills; and the two teachers, imperious Martha and lonely Edwina (Kirsten Dunst), struggle to hide their own fascination.

— moira macdonald, The Seattle Times, "Review: In ‘The Beguiled,’ a girls school turns out to be an unsafe refuge," 27 June 2017
Miss Jane (Angourie Rice), the princess of the group, is imperious and judgmental.

— a. o. scott, New York Times, "Review: ‘The Beguiled,’ Sofia Coppola’s Civil War Cocoon," 22 June 2017
This is a family only in the Mafia sense of the word, ruled by a ruthless and imperious Don who offers protection in return for fealty.

— adele stan, New Republic, "How Trump Rebranded the First Family," 19 June 2017
With the imperious Swanson as her mannequin, Chanel designed a wardrobe that managed to be both beautiful and understated, particularly a stunning white gown.

— sam kashner, VanityFair.com, "Coco Chanel’s Little-Known Flirtation with Golden-Age Hollywood," 19 June 2017
His characters included self-satisfied corporate executives, crusty academics, imperious dowagers and bewildered teenagers on the cusp of adulthood.

— robert berkvist, New York Times, "A.R. Gurney, Playwright Who Explored Upper-Crust Anxieties, Dies at 86," 14 June 2017
That would be his butler Bunter (a fittingly imperious Nolan Palmer), who goes into full crisis mode over the spoilage of – horrors! – a batch of vintage sherry.

— misha berson, The Seattle Times, "Review: Newlywed sleuths can’t get a break in ‘Busman’s Honeymoon’," 2 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'imperious.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of imperious

Latin imperiosus, from imperium

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1540

See Words from the same year

imperious Synonyms

Synonym Discussion of imperious

masterful, domineering, imperious, peremptory, imperative mean tending to impose one's will on others. masterful implies a strong personality and ability to act authoritatively. her masterful personality soon dominated the movement domineering suggests an overbearing or arbitrary manner and an obstinate determination to enforce one's will. children controlled by domineering parents imperious implies a commanding nature or manner and often suggests arrogant assurance. an imperious executive used to getting his own way peremptory implies an abrupt dictatorial manner coupled with an unwillingness to brook disobedience or dissent. given a peremptory dismissal imperative implies peremptoriness arising more from the urgency of the situation than from an inherent will to dominate. an imperative appeal for assistance

imperious