imperative meaning: definition, etymology and quotations

imperative

adj

UK /ɪmˈpɛɹ.ə.tɪv/ · CA, US /ɪmˈpɛɹ.ə.tɪv/

Etymology Borrowed from Latin imperātīvus.

Essential; crucial; extremely important.

That you come here right now is imperative.
Meantime, alterations at King William Street had become imperative, and by December 22, 1895, the station had been remodelled, as at Stockwell, to provide an island platform with lines each side, and a scissors crossing.1941 May, “Jubilee of the City Tube”, in Railway Magazine, page 224:

1 more example

Give this document to Ozzy. It's imperative that he reads and understands it. Got it?2019, Con Man Games, SmashGames, quoting Felix, Kindergarten 2, SmashGames:

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences Of, or relating to the imperative mood.

Computing, Computing theory, Engineering, Mathematics, Natural sciences, Physical sciences, Sciences Having semantics that incorporates mutable variables.

Expressing a command; authoritatively or absolutely directive.

imperative orders
The suits of kings are imperative.1612–1626, [Joseph Hall], “(please specify the page)”, in [Contemplations vpon the Principall Passages of the Holy Storie], volume (please specify |volume=II, V, or VI), London, →OCLC:

Derived terms: imperatival, imperative language, imperative mandate, imperativeness, imperative programming, imperativist, nonimperative, postimperative, unimperative, whimperative

imperative

noun

Etymology Borrowed from Latin imperātīvus.

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences The grammatical mood expressing an order (see jussive). In English, the imperative form of a verb is the same as that of the bare infinitive.

The verbs in sentences like "Do it!" and "Say what you like!" are in the imperative.

Grammar, Human sciences, Linguistics, Sciences A verb in the imperative mood.

An essential action, a must: something which is imperative.

Visiting Berlin is an imperative.
Anything grandiose or historically based tends to sound flat and banal when it reaches English, partly because translators get stuck between contradictory imperatives: juggling fidelity to the original sense with what is vocally viable, they tend to resort to a genteel fustian which lacks either poetic resonance or demotic realism, adding to a sense of artificiality rather than enhancing credibility.2014 March 1, Rupert Christiansen, “English translations rarely sing”, in The Daily Telegraph (Review), page R19:

1 more example

The new imperative for investment is the Government's objective to secure carbon-neutral transport emissions by 2040.2020 December 2, Industry Insider, “The costs of cutting carbon”, in Rail, page 76:

Synonyms: required
Derived terms: biological imperative, categorical imperative, compound imperative, first imperative, hypothetical imperative, moral imperative, second imperative
Related terms: jussive, volitive

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.