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Mr. Tom Posted 10 years ago
Vocabulary

Use of importune

Hi

I did a bit of homework on the word importune this morning only to get muddled. 

Macmillan English Dictionary says that the word is very formal. However, the examples given in other dictionaries are from everyday life. The word also appears from time to time in our local newspaper. The committee importuned...

I want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation.

Thanks,

Tom

PS: Could I put a question mark at the end of the following sentence?

I want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation?
  

Top answer

Mr. Tom want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation. Not grates, but some might not understand.

— Mister Micawber

  • Mr.
  • Tom want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation.
  • Not grates, but some might not understand.
  • 'Formal' often means 'educated'.
  • Mr.
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6 Answers
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Mr. Tom want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation.
Not grates, but some might not understand. 'Formal' often means 'educated'.
Mr. Tom Could I put a question mark at the end of the following sentence?I want to know if the word would grate on native ears in everyday conversation?
No; it is
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Using "importune" would be very odd in everyday conversation. It's a very formal word and would normally be reserved only for very formal speech or writing.
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I'm a native English speaker in the US, and I've never used this word in speech or writing in my entire life. And I've never heard it used in any conversation that I've been a part of. In fact, I'm not even sure what it means, and I'd have to look it up in a dictionary to get the meaning.
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fraze.it has only 13 examples of the use of "importuned". That is exceedingly rare.

http://fraze.it/n_search.jsp?q=importuned&l=0

CJ
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It's a word that you would be more likely to find in a book written a century or two ago than in modern US/UK speech or writing.
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I use 'importuned' all the time. People are always importuning me to do this or that for them.
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