imperious
English
WOTD – 24 October 2007
Etymology
From Latin imperiōsus (“mighty, powerful”), from imperium (“command, authority, power”)
Pronunciation
- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɪəɹi.əs/
- (US) IPA(key): /ɪmˈpɪɹi.əs/
Audio (US) (file) Audio (AU) (file) - Rhymes: -ɪəriəs
Adjective
imperious (not comparable)
- Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
- 1866 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth
- ...she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way, with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied.
- 1866 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth
- Urgent.
- 1891 – Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with that gallant army which had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth.
- 1891 – Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- (obsolete) Imperial or regal.
- 1899 – Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories
- She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.
- 1899 – Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories
Synonyms
- (domineering): authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, domineering, overbearing
Related terms
- imperial
- imperialism
- imperialistic
- imperially
- imperialness
- imperium
Translations
domineering, overbearing
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imperial or regal
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