Word a Day
peremptory
What does peremptory mean?
peremptory (adjective): not allowing contradiction or refusal.
Definition: Princeton WordNet 3.1.
How do you use peremptory in a sentence?
- Spoke in peremptory tones. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
- Peremptory commands. (Princeton WordNet 3.1)
How do you pronounce peremptory?
/pəˈɹɛmptəɹi/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does peremptory come from?
From Anglo-Norman peremptorie, parentorie et al. (Modern French péremptoire), and its source, Latin peremptōrius (“deadly; precluding debate, decisive”), from perimō (“destroy, thwart”), from per- (“thorough”) + emō (“to obtain, buy”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Test yourself: do you know “peremptory”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “peremptory” mean?
very busy with activity and confusion
Not quite: that's what hectic means.
not allowing contradiction or refusal
Right! That's what “peremptory” means.
inactive, sleeping, asleep, suspended
Not quite: that's what dormant means.
liable to sudden unpredictable change
Not quite: that's what erratic means.
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