importune

Importune is a verb meaning to press someone with persistent requests or interruptions, to beg or solicit in an insistent, often annoying, manner. It can describe repeated attempts to obtain money, favors, or attention, and is typically used in more formal or literary contexts than everyday speech. The term often carries a moral overtone, implying excessive or improper persistence.

As a transitive verb, it appears in constructions such as “to importune someone for a loan” or “to importune him to reconsider.” The word can also be used more generally to describe someone’s relentless urging, though it may sound archaic or elevated in modern prose. The related noun form importunity denotes the state or act of persistent urging.

Etymology and usage: Importune derives from Old French importuner, meaning to trouble or annoy, which in turn comes from Latin importunare “to trouble, be untimely.” The Latin root conveys the sense of something ill-timed or unseasonable, which has carried into the English sense of barefaced persistence that disregards others’ boundaries.

Synonyms include harass, pester, nag, beset, and press. Antonyms include refrain, desist, ignore, and leave alone. In addition to its general sense, importune appears in historical or religious texts to describe persistent petitions. The noun importunity is commonly used to refer to the act or instance of such urging.