Growing up our kids were good travellers. In the 1990s we usually drove the car from Sarnia, Ontario to Plumas, Manitoba, about 2000 kms, every summer, to visit grandparents on the farm. Both were relatively well behaved the whole trip and rarely asked the dreaded question, “Are we there yet?” However, I have heard stories from many other parents of the classic road trip refrain asked many a time during even the shortest journeys. “Are we there yet? Are we there yet? Are we there yet?” If you have ever been on the receiving end of this question, then you have been importuned.
“Please cease importuning me while I’m driving,” is an unlikely response. Importune is most often encountered in formal speech and writing. We are more apt to respond, “Stop bothering me!” Or just plain “No!” However, importune conveys irritating doggedness in a request for something. Importune is trying to break down resistance to get an answer.
The dictionary defines importune as a verb meaning to press or urge with troublesome persistence. It has been used in the English language since 1530. I’m sure that 500 years ago some small child in the back of a wagon on the way to grandma’s house was saying, “Are we there yet?” I would venture to guess that such a statement transcends all time and cultures.
Importune was borrowed from Middle French & Medieval Latin. The Middle French word importuner means to tire, annoy by inappropriate persistence. This came from the Medieval Latin importūnāre meaning to harass or pester. It is connected to the Latin importūnus denoting unfavourable, inconvenient, adverse, troublesome, relentless.
Jesus told a parable about importuning. “In a certain city there was a judge who neither feared God nor respected man. And there was a widow in that city who kept coming to him and saying, ‘Give me justice against my adversary.’ For a while he refused, but afterward he said to himself, ‘Though I neither fear God nor respect man, yet because this widow keeps bothering me, I will give her justice, so that she will not beat me down by her continual coming.’ And the Lord said, ‘Hear what the unrighteous judge says. And will not God give justice to his elect, who cry to him day and night? Will he delay long over them?’” [Luke 18:1-7]
Importune can also be used as an adjective. Sometimes the above parable has been titled ‘The Importune Widow.” However, importunate is the proper word to use when describing someone who is overly persistent to the point of annoyance. Importune simply means to make a persistent request or demand. If someone is constantly nagging you for a favour even after you have said no multiple times, you could describe them as importunate. However, even if someone is politely, but repeatedly, asking for something, you could use the word importune to describe their behaviour.
Synonyms to importune could be beg, entreat, beseech, implore, supplicate, and adjure. Beg suggests earnestness and insistence in the asking. “They begged for help.” Entreat implies an effort to persuade. “He entreated me to join them.” Beseech denotes deeply felt anxiety. “I beseech you to have mercy.” Implore is to make an earnest request. “I implored her not to leave.” Supplicate suggests humility. “With bowed heads they supplicated their God.” Adjure implies advising as well as pleading. “I adjure you to tell the truth.”
Importune evokes a strong annoying persistence with an attempt to break down the resistance of the requestee. Perhaps there is more behind the importuning by children in the back seat when they yell, “Are we there yet?”
John would like to know if anyone has a sincere interest in a relevant word that he could possibly research for an upcoming column. If so, please send your requests to wordwisdom2021@gmail.com. Words will be selected according to relevance and research criteria. We cannot confirm that all words will be used.
The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect the position of this publication.
