Im*per"ti*nent , n.
An impertinent person. [R.]
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. --
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 gratification 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.
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