1
as in domineering
fond of ordering people around
an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
an imperious movie star who thinks she's some sort of goddess
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in arbitrary
having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity
an office administrator with an imperious manner that really grates on people
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in urgent
needing immediate attention
as war casualties mounted, the need for trained nurses became imperious
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imperious
The adolescent protagonist soon finds himself at the mercy of his imperious uncle, who puts his nephew out on the street for missing a midnight curfew, of which poor Karl was quite unaware.
—
Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
There are six pairs of actors playing the two leads (along with several different Raouls and Madame Girys, the latter being our spooky, imperious tour guide through the whole shebang).
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Behind the imperious trio of Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Odyssey Sims, the Indiana Fever fought off the Las Vegas Aces 90-83 to force their WNBA semifinal series to a win-or-go-home Game 5 in Sin City on Tuesday night.
—Frank Nunns O'Connell 11 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Premier League leader Liverpool cannot stop winning and enters Saturday's Merseyside derby in imperious form.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imperious
Literary Hub, 6 Oct. 2025
There are six pairs of actors playing the two leads (along with several different Raouls and Madame Girys, the latter being our spooky, imperious tour guide through the whole shebang).
—Jackson McHenry, Vulture, 30 Sep. 2025
Behind the imperious trio of Aliyah Boston, Kelsey Mitchell and Odyssey Sims, the Indiana Fever fought off the Las Vegas Aces 90-83 to force their WNBA semifinal series to a win-or-go-home Game 5 in Sin City on Tuesday night.
—Frank Nunns O'Connell 11 Hr Ago, CNN Money, 29 Sep. 2025
Premier League leader Liverpool cannot stop winning and enters Saturday's Merseyside derby in imperious form.
—Kilty Cleary, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for imperious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperious
Adjective
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As a young man, he was raised by his domineering father (Charles Dance), who sits with him and teaches him about the sciences.—
Jazz Tangcay,
Variety,
7 Nov. 2025
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More relevant to this show, Ross also directed the fine 2016 film Captain Fantastic, starring Viggo Mortensen as a domineering father who isolates his six children from society.—
Scott Tobias,
Vulture,
6 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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This version of Ryan was arrogant, unable to conceal pride in his accomplishment.—
Jamie Thompson,
The Atlantic,
6 Nov. 2025
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So long as that situation continues, the 43-year-old’s allegedly arrogant and stand-offish treatment of his players will not worry the club hierarchy too much.—
Dermot Corrigan,
New York Times,
31 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Landor should ahve been protected by the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act, passed unanimously by Congress in 2000 to prevent state and local prisons from placing arbitrary or unnecessary restrictions on religious practices.—
Maureen Groppe,
USA Today,
10 Nov. 2025
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The notion of a non-arbitrary, standard length got a boost in the early days of physics, with the idea of a length that could be held to a standard that anyone on Earth could adhere to.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Singing this material with players who improvise — solos changing, every version being a little different — taught me about that urgent live-ensemble space where everyone’s living and dying by the next player onstage.—
Shirley Halperin,
Rolling Stone,
5 Nov. 2025
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This urgent political thriller about Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh opened the 2025 Venice International Film Festival before moving on to Telluride, Toronto, New York and London.—
Addie Morfoot,
Variety,
5 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Led by a far-right authoritarian government, the country has nevertheless encouraged rooftop and utility-scale solar through a mix of government rebates and relaxed regulations.—
Ella Nilsen,
CNN Money,
7 Nov. 2025
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Unlike communism and other authoritarian systems of government, democratic socialists believe in democracy.—
Eduardo Cuevas,
USA Today,
4 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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The more jihadist terrorists attack and displace civilian populations — who become refugees in their own country — the more poverty, already acute at 60%, rises and religious freedoms are suppressed.—
Kingsley Moghalu,
semafor.com,
10 Nov. 2025
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But Michael has also hit several roadblocks, with the King of Pop's past legal troubles haunting the production and Jackson's daughter, Paris, decrying its depiction of her late father, who died in 2009 from acute propofol intoxication.—
Randall Colburn,
Entertainment Weekly,
7 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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By now, it’s well established that dialogues with chatbots sometimes fuel dangerous delusions, in part because LLMs can feel so authoritative despite their limitations.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
11 Nov. 2025
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And, in a pact similar to the one CNN has entered, CNBC struck a deal with Cisco in 2010 that showed how the technology company’s TelePresence networking equipment helped the news outlet bring authoritative sources to the screen.—
Brian Steinberg,
Variety,
10 Nov. 2025
Adjective
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Moraes was operating within a young and fragile constitution ratified in 1988 after years of autocratic rule, Brandao said, one that had failed so far to stem pervasive corruption in the country.—
Ron Kampeas,
The Washington Examiner,
7 Nov. 2025
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Trump has borrowed liberally (or perhaps more accurately, illiberally) from Orbán’s playbook for autocratic capture, and now Orbán is seeking favors in return.—
Kim Lane Scheppele,
Time,
6 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Imperious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperious. Accessed 20 Nov. 2025.
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