Word a Day
importune
What does importune mean?
importune (verb): beg persistently and urgently.
Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.
How do you use importune in a sentence?
- I importune you to help them. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
Where does importune come from?
From Middle French importuner and its etymon Medieval Latin importūnor (“to make oneself troublesome”), from Latin importūnus (“unfit, troublesome”), originally "having no harbor".
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
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What does “importune” mean?
to twist or whirl, as an eddy
Not quite: that's what swirl means.
to supply or give (something)
Not quite: that's what furnish means.
to stamp (one’s foot or feet)
Not quite: that's what stomp means.
beg persistently and urgently
Right! That's what “importune” means.
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