importunate

adjective

im-ˈpȯr-chə-nət How to pronounce importunate (audio)
Definition of importunatenext
as in urgent
needing immediate attention the demands of the chairmanship were becoming too importunate for me to continue without an assistant

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of importunate Dragonfly males are so importunate that some females play dead to avoid their advances. — Elizabeth Kolbert, New Yorker, 22 June 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for importunate
  1. urgent
  2. acute
Adjective
  • Hollywood largely stayed out of the fight despite what appears to be an increasingly urgent situation emerging in which workers across the industry are failing to qualify for union health insurance plans.
    — Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 4 Nov. 2026
  • With Anthropic expected to IPO sooner than later, an event that could tip the rest of the stock market into a tailspin, the question of how to cover this world without becoming an accessory to its interests feels ever more urgent.
    — Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of urgent
Adjective
  • The track’s watery percussion and acute synth stabs carry all the implication of a dancefloor, even without a beat.
    — Shaad D’Souza, Pitchfork, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Chronic diastolic congestive heart failure was an underlying cause, and acute renal failure was also listed as a significant contributing condition.
    — Tracy Brown, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of acute

Browse Nearby Words

imports
importunate
importune
See all Nearby Words

Podcast

Theme music by Joshua Stamper ©2006 New Jerusalem Music/ASCAP

Cite this Entry

“Importunate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/importunate. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of quondam

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

The Words of the Week - Nov. 6

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All