impertinence
/ɪmˈpɝ.tɪ.nəns/noun
impertinence is spelled I-M-P-E-R-T-I-N-E-N-C-E: 12 letters and 4 syllables. It appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, impertinence means “Lack of pertinence; irrelevance” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of impertinence is impertinences.
How many letters and syllables are in impertinence?
| Letters | 12: I-M-P-E-R-T-I-N-E-N-C-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 4 (from its pronunciation) |
| In writing | about once in every 6 million words; the 70,702nd most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is impertinence?
Impertinence appears about once in every 6 million words in written English, the 70,702nd most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce impertinence?
- UK /ɪmˈpɜː.tɪ.nəns/
- US /ɪmˈpɝ.tɪ.nəns/
- US /ɪmˈpɝt.nəns/
Impertinence has 4 syllables (counted from the pronunciation).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Wodencafe-impertinence.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of impertinence
- impertinences plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does impertinence mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
Lack of pertinence; irrelevance.
- 2
An instance of this; a moment of being impertinent.
- 3
The fact or character of being out of place; inappropriateness.
- 4
Insolence; impudence.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Impertinence in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| German | Unbedeutendheit, Unerheblichkeit, Unmaßgeblichkeit, Unbedeutsamkeit, Irrelevanz, Belanglosigkeit |
| Portuguese | impertinência |
| Spanish | impertinencia , exabrupto, salida de tono |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does impertinence come from?
Borrowed from Middle French impertinence, from impertinent (“impertinent”); by surface analysis, im- + pertinent.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).