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importune - 6 dictionary results

im⋅por⋅tune

  [im-pawr-toon, -tyoon, im-pawr-chuhn] verb, -tuned, -tun⋅ing, adjective
Use importune in a Sentence
–verb (used with object)
1. to press or beset with solicitations; demand with urgency or persistence.
2. to make improper advances toward (a person).
3. to beg for (something) urgently or persistently.
4. Obsolete. to annoy.
5. Obsolete. to press; impel.
–verb (used without object)
6. to make urgent or persistent solicitations.
7. to make improper advances toward another person.
–adjective
8. importunate.
Origin:
1350–1400; ME (adj.) < L importūnus unsuitable, troublesome, relentless; see im- 2 , opportune

Related forms:
im⋅por⋅tune⋅ly, adverb
im⋅por⋅tun⋅er, noun

Synonyms:
1, 3. beseech, entreat, implore, supplicate, solicit. 6. plead.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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im·por·tune   (ĭm'pôr-tōōn', -tyōōn', ĭm-pôr'chən)   
v.   im·por·tuned, im·por·tun·ing, im·por·tunes

v.   tr.
  1. To beset with insistent or repeated requests; entreat pressingly.
  2. Archaic To ask for urgently or repeatedly.
  3. To annoy; vex.
v.   intr.
To plead or urge irksomely, often persistently. See Synonyms at beg.
adj.  Importunate.

[French importuner, from Old French importun, inopportune, from Latin importūnus : in-, not; see in-1 + portus, port, refuge; see per-2 in Indo-European roots.]
im'por·tune'ly adv., im'por·tun'er n.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Importune

Im`por*tune"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Importuned; p. pr. & vb. n. Importuning.] [From Importune, a.: cf. F. importuner.]

1. To request or solicit, with urgency; to press with frequent, unreasonable, or troublesome application or pertinacity; hence, to tease; to irritate; to worry.

Their ministers and residents here have perpetually importuned the court with unreasonable demands. --Swift.

2. To import; to signify. [Obs.] "It importunes death." --Spenser.

Importune

Im`por*tune"\, v. i. To require; to demand. [Obs.]

We shall write to you, As time and our concernings shall importune. --Shak.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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importune 
c.1425 (implied in importunely), from M.Fr. importuner, from M.L. importunari "to make oneself troublesome," from L. importunus "unfit, troublesome," originally "having no harbor" (i.e. "difficult to access"), from in- "not" + portus "harbor" (see port). Importunate is 1529, from L. importunus.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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Main Entry: im·por·tune
Pronunciation: "im-por-'tün, -'tyün; im-'por-"tyün, -ch&n
Function: verb
Inflected Forms: -tuned; -tun·ing
transitive verb : to press or urge with troublesome persistence importunes or intentionally aids another person to engage in conduct which constitutes an offense —General Statutes of Connecticut> intransitive verb : to beg, urge, or press another persistently or troublesomely —compare COERCE, SOLICIT
Merriam-Webster's Dictionary of Law, © 1996 Merriam-Webster, Inc.
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