What does importuned mean?
Importuned means to press someone persistently to do something, usually by repeated requests, appeals, or demands. The word is formal and literary, and it often carries a slightly negative implication: the person making the request may be persistent, difficult to discourage, or unwelcome. It is the past tense and past participle of importune, with importunate serving as the related adjective. For example, someone might be importuned for information by a reporter, or importuned to lend money by a persistent friend. Although importuned can suggest excessive pressure, it is not necessarily hostile; in historical and literary contexts it can simply describe earnest, repeated entreaty. The word is useful when the persistence of a request is central to the meaning.
verbTo insist persistently with someone, especially by asking or demanding something in a forceful or unwelcome way. The past participle of importune.
- To insistently ask, urge, or demand something, especially in a persistent or unwelcome manner.
"After being importuned by several callers, she finally turned off the telephone."
"The reporter was importuned by camera operators seeking a comment."
"She importuned him to help her move the furniture."
To be importuned is to be pressed so insistently that the request feels impossible to ignore.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does importuned come from?
Importuned derives from importune, which comes from Latin importunus, meaning unsuitable or inconvenient. The Latin verb importunare meant to approach or demand insistently, originally with the sense of treating someone as troublesome. The word is related to opportune, which developed from the opposite sense of Latin importunus and ultimately shares the same root.
Related word forms
How importuned is actually used
The word is formal and somewhat literary. It often conveys that a person is repeatedly or insistently requesting something, sometimes with an implication of unwelcome pressure.
Easily confused with importuned
Importuned is the past participle of the verb importune, whereas importunate is an adjective describing a person or request that is persistent and demanding.
Importune is the infinitive form of the verb; importuned is its past tense and past participle.