imperious
adjUK /ɪmˈpɪə̯.ɹi.əs/ · US /ɪmˈpɪɹ.i.əs/
Etymology From Latin imperiōsus (“mighty, powerful”), from imperium (“command, authority, power”).
1
Domineering, arrogant, or overbearing.
- The frowning lookes of fiery Tamburlaine, That with his terrour and imperious eies, Commands the hearts of his aſſociates, […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [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 IIII, scene i:
- […] she glanced about her in an imperious, challenging sort of way, with looks and gestures that clearly were unstudied.1866, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, translated by C. J. Hogarth, The Gambler:
4 more examples
- She was quick, beautiful, imperious, while he was quiet, slow, and misty.1899, Stephen Crane, The Angel Child, Whilomville Stories:
- I had travelled one morning down to Aylesbury, and had left my train, and was about to cross the footbridge, when I heard the imperious whistle of a "B1." I paused, and round the bend came the "Master Cutler" with its engine working absolutely flat out.1955 April, W. J. Alcock, “Unforgettable Moments”, in Railway Magazine, page 271:
- “Hey, sir? Sir, excuse me?” The blonde was calling out to him, in imperious tones that insisted on a reply.2001, Salman Rushdie, Fury: A Novel, London: Jonathan Cape, →ISBN, page 4:
- Saliba, meanwhile, has returned to Arsenal looking like the finished article after the 21-year-old France defender spent loan spells at Saint-Etienne, Nice and Marseille. He has been imperious since the opening game at Brentford, establishing a formidable partnership with Gabriel.2022 October 1, Phil McNulty, “Arsenal 3-1 Tottenham: Gunners show identity & direction in outstanding derby win”, in BBC Sport:
2
Urgent; intensely compelling.
- 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.1891, Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge:
- An old man to whom a few drops of phosphoric ether had been administered experienced repeated and imperious venereal wants.1961, Harry E. Wedeck, Dictionary of Aphrodisiacs, New York: The Citadel Press, page 202:
3
Obsolete Imperial or regal.
- All the terrors of Antichrist; his cruel ediets and anathemas that were thundered from his imperious throne, like storms of fire and brimstone […]1789, Ephraim Judson, Ambassadors appointed by Christ to treat with mankind on the subject of reconciliation to God, page 7:
- Derived terms
- imperiously, imperiousness, unimperious
- Related terms
- imperial, imperialism, imperialistic, imperially, imperialness, imperium