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If someone is importunate, they keep asking and asking, in a way that starts to feel or unfair. They will not take a gentle “not now.” The word describes the person, or their manner — an importunate beggar, an importunate caller — not the thing they want. The asking can be for money, a favour, or even love; the point is the pressure. It is quite formal and a little literary. In ordinary talk, people say , they won’t stop asking, or they keep . You may meet it in older novels more than in the street. Though actually, it has nothing to do with import (bringing goods into a country), even though the first letters match.
糾纏不休的、死纏爛打的
組成From Latin importūnus (troublesome) + -ate, following Middle French importuné. On the surface: importune + -ate.
同家族的字
- importunethe verb: to keep asking in this annoying way
- importunitythe noun for this kind of asking
原始詞典資料4 筆記錄
以下是外部詞典記錄的用法，原文照列，我們還沒有寫成教學內容。上面的說明才是我們自己寫的；有些用法可能上面已經講過了。
importunateadj詞源 1/ɪmˈpɔːtjʊnət/
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Persistent or pressing, often annoyingly so.
- Nick was on the point of declaring again that he was a humbug, so vivid was his inner sense of what he thought of his factitious public utterances, which had the cursed property of creating dreadful responsibilities and importunate credulities for him.
- Trembling in every limb I raise my loud importunate cry, And in a sacred terror wait the Delian god’s reply.
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Given to importunate demands, greedily or thoughtlessly demanding.
- [...] if you reprimand or punish them, be assured every one will consider you importunate as well as ridiculous.
importunatenoun詞源 1/ɪmˈpɔːtjʊnət/
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An importuner.
- This will put an Answer into the Kings mouth, against all importunates.
importunateverb詞源 2/ɪmˈpɔːtjuːneɪt/
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rareTo importune, or to obtain by importunity.
- All which notwithstanding, I obtained licence at length to make my supplication to the noble Parliament house; but I could find no messengers till Sir John Seton went, whom I importunated daily to obtain me favor for my return home again.
- Is my work ended? The fear of importunating my friends answers, “Yes.”
資料來源：英文維基詞典 English Wiktionary（CC BY-SA 4.0）。 原文照列，未經改寫。