Impertinent vs Irreverent - What's the difference?
impertinent | irreverent | Synonyms |
insolent, ill-mannered
* Tillotson
* Jeremy Taylor
irrelevant (opposite of pertinent)
An impertinent individual.
* (Maria Edgeworth)
Lacking respect or seriousness.
Courageous, straightforward, having mass appeal, but likely to offend. Challenging the status quo, rocking the boat.
:An irreverent new work.
:An irreverent examination of reviewing.
Irreverent is a synonym of impertinent.
As adjectives the difference between impertinent and irreverent
is that impertinent is insolent, ill-mannered while irreverent is lacking respect or seriousness.As a noun impertinent
is an impertinent individual.impertinent
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- things that are impertinent to us
- How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
Usage notes
Although, historically, definition 2 was the original (derived from the French below) usage; meaning gradually changed to definition 1. More recently general usage has come to, once again, incorporate definition 2. As many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect, avoiding the word altogether may be advisable. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.Synonyms
* See alsoNoun
(en noun)- comfortably recessed from curious impertinents
