Importunate vs Officious - What's the difference?
importunate | officious |
Of a demand: persistent or pressing, often annoyingly so.
Of a person: given to importunate demands, greedily or thoughtlessly demanding.
(rare) To importune, or to obtain by importunity.
* 1581 June 23, Thomas Churchyard, letter to Sir Christopher Hatton, in Sir Harris Nicolas (editor), Memoirs of the Life and Times of Sir Christopher Hatton, K.G. , Richard Bentley (publisher, 1847),
* 1847 December 18, N. Roussel, “Spiritual Destitution of Paris.—Appeal to British Christians”, in Evangelical Christendom: Its State and Prospects , Volume II (1848), Partridge and Oakey,
* 1910 July, David Leslie Brown, “The Need of To-day”, in , Volume 25, Southern Pacific Company,
(obsolete) obliging, attentive, eager to please
Offensively intrusive or interfering in offering advice and services
As adjectives the difference between importunate and officious
is that importunate is of a demand: persistent or pressing, often annoyingly so while officious is (obsolete) obliging, attentive, eager to please.As a verb importunate
is (rare) to importune, or to obtain by importunity.importunate
English
Etymology 1
From (etyl)Adjective
(en adjective)Etymology 2
From (etyl)Verb
(importunat)page 173:
- All which notwithstanding, I obtained licence at length to make my supplication to the noble Parliament house; but I could find no messengers till Sir John Seton went, whom I importunated daily to obtain me favor for my return home again.
page 43:
- Is my work ended? The fear of importunating my friends answers, “Yes.”
reverse of frontispiece:
- It is the concrete that impresses, that importunates until it influences—in writing as in everything else.