Meaning & use
imperious
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Meanings
adjectivecomparabledisapproving
Acting in a bossy, commanding way, as if others must obey without question.
Grammar: Describes people and their manner: an imperious tone; she was imperious.
Patterns
- imperious manner
- imperious tone
The headmistress waved her hand with an imperious gesture.
He gave imperious orders and expected instant action.
Her imperious tone made the new staff nervous.
adjectivebefore a nounliterary
Urgent and impossible to ignore, as a need or demand.
Grammar: Rare, literary sense before a noun: an imperious need.
Patterns
- an imperious need for something
An imperious hunger drove him to the kitchen.
She felt an imperious need to sleep.
The imperious call of duty could not be ignored.
Word forms
| comparative | more imperious |
|---|---|
| superlative | most imperious |
Common combinations
- an imperious tone
- She spoke in an imperious tone.
- imperious manner
- His imperious manner annoyed everyone.
- imperious gesture
- With an imperious gesture, he sent the waiter away.
- imperious demand
- The queen made an imperious demand.
- imperious look
- She gave us an imperious look.
Synonyms and how they differ
- domineering
- Domineering describes controlling behavior in relationships, while imperious suggests a lofty, commanding air.
- bossy
- Bossy is informal and used for ordinary behavior, even by children, while imperious is grander and more formal.
- haughty
- Haughty stresses looking down on others, not necessarily giving orders.
- overbearing
- Overbearing means forcing your views on others, and sounds less regal than imperious.
Opposites
Word family
- imperiously adverb
- in a commanding way
- imperiousness noun
- a commanding, bossy quality
- imperial adjective
- relating to an empire or emperor
- imperative adjective
- absolutely necessary
Commonly confused: imperious or imperial? imperious or impervious?
imperious vs imperial
Imperial relates to an empire, while imperious describes a bossy manner.
imperious vs impervious
Impervious means not affected or not letting something through, and is unrelated to bossiness.
Practice
The manager's ___ attitude, with constant orders and no listening, upset the staff.
Choose one answer.
Imperious means commanding and bossy. Impervious means unaffected, imperial relates to an empire, and impetuous means acting rashly.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “imperious”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.