Peremptory

Peremptory is an adjective with several related senses. In everyday language, it describes an attitude or order that insists on immediate obedience or action and is often brusque or imperious. A person may give a peremptory answer, or issue a peremptory command, leaving little or no room for discussion. It can also mean final, irreversible, or not subject to appeal or modification, as in a peremptory ruling or a peremptory deadline. The sense conveys finality or an obligation that cannot be refused in the ordinary way.

In law and in international law, the term has specialized uses. A peremptory challenge is a motion during voir dire to exclude a prospective juror without stating a reason. In international law, jus cogens are described as peremptory norms: non-derogable rules from which states may not withdraw.

Etymology: peremptory derives from Latin peremptorius, meaning decisive or forbidding, from peremptus “thrown down, finished” (literally “taken away completely”), with the sense of ending debate or forcing compliance carried into English via French and legal usage.

Usage notes: The connotation is often negative when applied to a person’s demeanor—blunt, domineering, or overbearing—though in formal or legal contexts it can simply denote finality or authority. The opposite senses include tentative, provisional, or subject to later decision.