imperious

English

WOTD – 24 October 2007

Etymology

From Latin imperiōsus (“mighty, powerful”), from imperium (“command, authority, power”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɪəɹi.əs/
• IPA^(key): /ɪmˈpɪɹi.əs/

• Audio (US):

  (file)

• Audio (AU):

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• Rhymes: -ɪəɹiəs

Adjective

imperious (not comparable)

1. Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
   • c. 1587–1588, [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire, London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act , scene iv:

     The frowning lookes of fiery Tamburlaine,
     That with his terrour and imperious eies,
     Commands the hearts of his aſſociates, […]

   • 1866 – Fyodor Dostoyevsky, The Gambler, translated by C. J. Hogarth

     […] she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way, with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied.

   • 1899 – Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories

     She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.

2. Urgent.
   • 1891 – Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

     Circumstances of an imperious nature, which it is unnecessary to relate here, had prevented him from taking service with that gallant army which had fought the disastrous campaigns ending with the fall of Corinth.

3. (obsolete) Imperial or regal.
   • 1789, Ephraim Judson, Ambassadors appointed by Christ to treat with mankind on the subject of reconciliation to God (page 7)

     All the terrors of Antichrist; his cruel ediets and anathemas that were thundered from his imperious throne, like storms of fire and brimstone […]

Synonyms

• (domineering): authoritarian, bossy, dictatorial, domineering, overbearing

Related terms

• imperial
• imperialism
• imperialistic
• imperially
• imperialness
• imperium

 

Translations

domineering, overbearing

• Arabic: آمِر (ʔāmir)
• Armenian:

  Old Armenian: հպարտ (hpart), սէգ (sēg)

• Bulgarian: повелителен (bg) (povelitelen), заповеднически (bg) (zapovedničeski)
• Catalan: imperiós (ca)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 驕橫／骄横 (zh) (jiāohèng), 骄横 (zh) (jiāohèng)

• Dutch: heerszuchtig (nl)dominant (nl)hooghartig (nl)
• Finnish: käskevä (fi), kopea (fi), ylimielinen (fi)
• French: impérieux (fr)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• German: herrisch (de)
• Irish: anúdarásach, máistriúil
• Latin: imperiōsus
• Manx: ard-chreeagh
• Maori: whakatopatopa, whakatarapī
• Occitan: imperiós
• Portuguese: imperioso (pt)
• Russian: вла́стный (ru) (vlástnyj), повели́тельный (ru) (povelítelʹnyj), нача́льственный (ru) (načálʹstvennyj)
• Spanish: imperioso (es)

imperial or regal

• Bulgarian: властен (bg) (vlasten), царствен (bg) (carstven)
• German: königlich (de), majestätisch (de)
• (deprecated template usage) {{trans-mid}}
• Portuguese: imperial (pt)
• Russian: импе́рский (ru) (impérskij), ца́рственный (ru) (cárstvennyj), короле́вский (ru) (korolévskij)