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importune

 - 4 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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Word Origin & History

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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Legal Dictionary

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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