importune
/ɪmpɔːˈtjuːn/
"importune" is a 9-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“importune” is uncommon English (outside the top frequency list), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- Unranked
- below top-frequency English
- 9
- letters
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To bother, irritate, trouble.
Corpus desk
Index EN-importune · importune · English
importune · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
- LEN-LONG 9 letters
- VOW-4 4 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-THIN "I" thin
- PHOTO-UNK Peer pending
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | importune |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /ɪmpɔːˈtjuːn/ |
| Letters | 9 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “importune” in English
Rare enough to double-check
importune is uncommon English outside the top frequency list, classed as averb, transcribed /ɪmpɔːˈtjuːn/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 4 senses are on record.
The misspelling generator found no plausible variants for importune, a straightforward case of a spelling with little room for common typos. No close-neighbour confusable shows up for this headword in our dataset, since its spelling is unusual enough that it doesn't cluster with a lookalike.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle French importuner and its etymon Medieval Latin importūnor (“to make oneself troublesome”), from Latin importūnus (“unfit, troublesome”), originally "having no harbor". The correct English form is importune, spelled I-M-P-O-R-T-U-N-E.
Definition
- 1To bother, irritate, trouble.
- 2To harass with persistent requests.
- 3To approach to offer one's services as a prostitute, or otherwise make improper proposals.
- 4To import; to signify.
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how importune appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
To deliberate, be it but in slight matters, doth importune me.
But I will no longer importune my young cousin.
Etymology
From Middle French importuner and its etymon Medieval Latin importūnor (“to make oneself troublesome”), from Latin importūnus (“unfit, troublesome”), originally "having no harbor".
This word in other languages
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.