Impertinent - Definitions from Dictionary.com

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Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1) - Cite This Source - Share This

im·per·ti·nent

Audio Help [im-pur-tn-uh

nt] Pronunciation Key

–adjective

1.	intrusive or presumptuous, as persons or their actions; insolently rude; uncivil: a brash, impertinent youth.

2.	not pertinent or relevant; irrelevant: an impertinent detail.

3.	Archaic. inappropriate, incongruous, or absurd.

4.	Obsolete. (of persons) trivial, silly, or absurd.

[Origin: 1350–1400; ME < LL impertinent- (s. of impertinéns) not belonging. See im-², pertinent

]

—Related forms

im·per·ti·nent·ly, adverb

im·per·ti·nent·ness, noun

—Synonyms 1. fresh, bold, insulting, officious, saucy, pert, brazen. Impertinent, impudent, insolent refer to bold, rude, and arrogant behavior. Impertinent, from its primary meaning of not pertinent and hence inappropriate or out of place, has come to imply often an unseemly intrusion into what does not concern one, or a presumptuous rudeness toward one entitled to deference or respect: an impertinent interruption, question, manner toward a teacher. Impudent suggests a bold and shameless impertinence: an impudent speech, young rascal. Insolent suggests insulting or arrogantly contemptuous behavior: unbearably insolent toward those in authority.

—Antonyms 1. polite.

Dictionary.com Unabridged (v 1.1)
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2006.

Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Impertinent

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American Heritage Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

im·per·ti·nent Audio Help (ĭm-pûr'tn-ənt) Pronunciation Key
adj.

Exceeding the limits of propriety or good manners; improperly forward or bold: impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup.
Not pertinent; irrelevant. See Synonyms at irrelevant.

[Middle English, irrelevant, from Old French, from Late Latin impertinēns, impertinent- : Latin in-, not; see in-¹ + Latin pertinēns, pertinent; see pertinent.]

im·per'ti·nent·ly adv.

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The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.

Online Etymology Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
impertinent

c.1380, "unconnected, unrelated," from L.L. impertinentem (nom. impertinens) "not belonging," lit. "not to the point," from L. in- "not" + pertinens (see pertinent). Sense of "rudely bold" is 1681, probably modeled on similar use in Fr., esp. by Molière, from notion of meddling with what is beyond one's proper sphere.

WordNet - Cite This Source - Share This

impertinent
adjective
1.	characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality; "a certain irreverent gaiety and ease of manner"
2.	not pertinent to the matter under consideration; "an issue extraneous to the debate"; "the price was immaterial"; "mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming to the point" [syn: extraneous]
3.	improperly forward or bold; "don't be fresh with me"; "impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup"; "an impudent boy given to insulting strangers"; "Don't get wise with me!" [syn: fresh]

Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This
impertinent [imˈpəːtinənt] adjective

impudent or rude
Example: She was impertinent to her teacher.

Arabic:	وقِح
Chinese (Simplified):	粗暴无礼的
Chinese (Traditional):	粗暴無禮的
Czech:	drzý
Danish:	næsvis; fræk
Dutch:	brutaal
Estonian:	häbematu
Finnish:	nenäkäs
French:	impertinent (envers)
German:	unverschämt
Greek:	αναιδής
Hungarian:	szemtelen
Icelandic:	ósvífinn, ruddalegur
Indonesian:	lancang, kurang ajar
Italian:	impertinente

Japanese:	生意気な
Korean:	무례한
Latvian:	bezkaunīgs; nekaunīgs
Lithuanian:	įžūlus, atžarus
Norwegian:	uforskammet, nesevis
Polish:	bezczelny
Portuguese (Brazil):	impertinente
Portuguese (Portugal):	impertinente
Romanian:	impertinent
Russian:	дерзкий
Slovak:	bezočivý
Slovenian:	nesramen
Spanish:	impertinente
Swedish:	näsvis, oförskämd
Turkish:	küstah, yüzsüz

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Impertinent

Im*per"ti*nence\, n. [Cf. F. impertinence. See Impertinent.]

1. The condition or quality of being impertnent; absence of pertinence, or of adaptedness; irrelevance; unfitness.

2. Conduct or language unbecoming the person, the society, or the circumstances; rudeness; incivility.

We should avoid the vexation and impertinence of pedants who affect to talk in a language not to be understood. --Swift.

3. That which is impertinent; a thing out of place, or of no value.

There are many subtile impertinences learned in schools. --Watts.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary - Cite This Source - Share This

Impertinent

Im*per"ti*nent\, a. [F., fr. L. impertinens, -entis; pref. im- not + pertinens. See Pertinent.]

1. Not pertinent; not pertaining to the matter in hand; having no bearing on the subject; not to the point; irrelevant; inapplicable.

Things that are impertinent to us. --Tillotson.

How impertinent that grief was which served no end! --Jer. Taylor.

2. Contrary to, or offending against, the rules of propriety or good breeding; guilty of, or prone to, rude, unbecoming, or uncivil words or actions; as, an impertient coxcomb; an impertient remark.

3. Trifing; inattentive; frivolous.

Syn: Rude; officious; intrusive; saucy; unmannerly; meddlesome; disrespectful; impudent; insolent.

Usage: Impertinent, Officious, Rude. A person is officious who obtrudes his offices or assistance where they are not needed; he is impertinent when he intermeddles in things with which he has no concern. The former shows a want of tact, the latter a want of breeding, or, more commonly, a spirit of sheer impudence. A person is rude when he violates the proprieties of social life either from ignorance or wantonness. "An impertinent man will ask questions for the mere grafication of curiosity; a rude man will burst into the room of another, or push against his person, inviolant of all decorum; one who is officious is quite as unfortunate as he is troublesome; when he strives to serve, he has the misfortune to annoy." --Crabb. See Impudence, and Insolent.

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