Hypertext Webster Gateway: "impertinent"

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Impertinent \Im*per"ti*nent\, a. [F., fr. L. impertinens,
-entis; pref. im- not + pertinens. See {Pertinent}.]
1. Not pertinent; not pertaining to the matter in hand;
having no bearing on the subject; not to the point;
irrelevant; inapplicable.

Things that are impertinent to us. --Tillotson.

How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
--Jer. Taylor.

2. Contrary to, or offending against, the rules of propriety
or good breeding; guilty of, or prone to, rude,
unbecoming, or uncivil words or actions; as, an impertient
coxcomb; an impertient remark.

3. Trifing; inattentive; frivolous.

Syn: Rude; officious; intrusive; saucy; unmannerly;
meddlesome; disrespectful; impudent; insolent.

Usage: {Impertinent}, {Officious}, {Rude}. A person is
officious who obtrudes his offices or assistance where
they are not needed; he is impertinent when he
intermeddles in things with which he has no concern.
The former shows a want of tact, the latter a want of
breeding, or, more commonly, a spirit of sheer
impudence. A person is rude when he violates the
proprieties of social life either from ignorance or
wantonness. ``An impertinent man will ask questions
for the mere grafication of curiosity; a rude man will
burst into the room of another, or push against his
person, inviolant of all decorum; one who is officious
is quite as unfortunate as he is troublesome; when he
strives to serve, he has the misfortune to annoy.''
--Crabb. See {Impudence}, and {Insolent}.

From Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913) (web1913)

Impertinent \Im*per"ti*nent\, n.
An impertinent person. [R.]

From WordNet (r) 1.7 (wn)

impertinent
adj 1: characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality; "a
certain irreverent gaiety and ease of manner" [syn: {irreverent},
{pert}, {saucy}]
2: not pertinent to the matter under consideration; "an issue
extraneous to the debate"; "the price was immaterial";
"mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming
to the point" [syn: {extraneous}, {immaterial}]
3: improperly forward or bold; "don't be fresh with me";
"impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup"; "an
impudent boy given to insulting strangers" [syn: {fresh},
{impudent}, {overbold}, {smart}, {saucy}, {sassy}]


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