importunity — English Dictionary

Noun

1. Constant and insistent demanding or proposing, especially if regarded as annoying or upsetting; also, the character of such behaviour; (countable) an instance of this.

   Usage

   • Uncountable

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   And he [Jesus] ſayde vnto thẽ [them]: which of you ſhall have a frende and ſhall goo to hym att mydnyght⸝ and ſaye vnto hym: frende lende me foure loves for a frende of myne is come out off the waye to me⸝ and I have nothynge to ſett before hĩ [him]⸝ And he within ſhall andſwer and ſaye: Trouble me nott⸝ nowe is the doore ſhett⸝ and my ſervaunttꝭ [servaunttis, i.e., servants] are with me in the chamber⸝ I cannot ryſe and geve thẽ to the [them to thee]. I ſaye vnto you: though he woll not aryſe and geve hym⸝ becauſe he is his frende: Yet becauſe of hys importunitie he woll ryſe and geve him as many as he nedeth.

   Of a ſuretie, it is a ioyfull thynge to reioyce in the chyldhode of chyldren, but it is a ryght cruel thing to ſuffre the importunities of their mothers.

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   Then vvay vvhat loſſe your honor may ſuſtaine / If vvith too credent eare you liſt his ſongs / Or looſe your hart, or your chaſt treaſure open / To his vnmaſtred importunity.

   [W]ith much importunitie and promiſe of revvard (it being a matter of danger) I got them to ſet me aſhore.

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   The truth of my Third Accuſation is confeſt, but the guilt, not acknovvledged; ſince that vvhich excites men to endleſs bavvlings, and altercations; Schiſms, Hereſies and Rebellions, by the vehemencies of Diſpute, is it ſeems vvith our Author no more noxious and criminal, then the Sun that ſtirrs men up to their vvork in the morning, by the importunity of it's beams.

   For if through Importunity, a poor VVidovv-vvoman may prevail vvith an unjuſt Judge; and ſo conſequently vvith an unmerciful and hard-hearted Tyrant, hovv much more ſhall the poor, afflicted, diſtreſſed, and tempted People of God, prevail vvith, and obtain Mercy at the Hands of a loving, juſt, and merciful God?

   Mean vvhile, lord —— continued to act in the character of a fiend, tormenting me vvith his nauſeous importunities: he prevailed upon the duke of L—— to employ his influence in perſuading me to live vvith him; […]

   [B]eing ſurrounded vvith importunity, and no longer able to ſatisfy every requeſt that vvas made him, instead of money he gave promiſes. They vvere all he had to beſtovv, and he had not reſolution enough to give any man pain by a denial.

   [K]naves in office, partial in the vvork / Of diſtribution; lib'ral of their aid / To clam'rous importunity in rags, / But oft-times deaf to ſuppliants vvho vvould bluſh / To vvear a tatter'd garb hovvever coarſe, / VVhom famine cannot reconcile to filth; […]

   […] Linton clung to his cousin, and implored her to accompany him, with a frantic importunity that admitted no denial.

   But when she turned her thoughts to Morningside Park she perceived the tangled skein of life was now to be further complicated by his romantic importunity.

2. The fact of being at an inappropriate or unsuitable time; unseasonableness.

   Usage

   • Obsolete
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   Speake not, where there is no audyence: and poure not forth wyſzdome out of tyme, at an importunyte.

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   It is one of the moſt vexatious Mortifications perhaps, of a Sober, and a Studious Mans Life, to have his Thoughts Diſorder'd, and the very Chain of his Reaſon Diſcompos'd, by the Importunity of a Tedious, and an Impertinent Viſit.

3. Persistence in behaviour; determination, perseverance, stubbornness.

   Usage

   • Obsolete
   • Uncountable

   Examples

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   I beſech the [thee] with what colours coude more workmanly haue be paynteth and ſet out eyther venymous entycementes and wanton pleaſures of the poyſoned fleſſhe⸝ prouokyng ⁊ temptynge the ſoule to fylthynes of ſynne⸝ or elſe the importunytye of the ſame cryenge and ſtryuyng agaynſt the ſpiryte⸝ or the wretched ende that foloweth whan ſhe [a harlot] dothe ouercõme the ſpiryte.

   [S]uch vague memories hang about the mind like cobwebs, with tickling importunity—best to sweep them away at a dash: […]

4. The quality of being annoying or troublesome; difficulty, trouble; (countable) an instance of this.

   Usage

   • Obsolete
   • Uncountable

   Examples

   [V]ery often the Importunity and Violence of the Cough vvas to be appeaſed by Elixir Aſthmaticum, Diacodium, &c.

Noun

1. insistent solicitation and entreaty

   Synonyms

   urgencyurging

   Broader terms

   solicitation

   Examples

   his importunity left me no alternative but to agree

2. Quality of a person who is given to making importunate demands, being greedily or thoughtlessly demanding.

   Synonyms

   importunateness

   Broader terms

   imperativenessinstancy

   Examples

   More examples (1)

   This situation might explain why Lilburne, in spite of his harsh language and challenges to the court's authority, not to mention his importunateness, was not cited for contempt.