IMPERTINENT

fresh, impertinent, impudent, overbold, smart, saucy, sassy, wise

(adjective) improperly forward or bold; “don’t be fresh with me”; “impertinent of a child to lecture a grownup”; “an impudent boy given to insulting strangers”; “Don’t get wise with me!”

extraneous, immaterial, impertinent, orthogonal

(adjective) not pertinent to the matter under consideration; “an issue extraneous to the debate”; “the price was immaterial”; “mentioned several impertinent facts before finally coming to the point”

impertinent, irreverent, pert, saucy

(adjective) characterized by a lightly pert and exuberant quality; “a certain irreverent gaiety and ease of manner”

Source: WordNet® 3.1

Etymology

Adjective

impertinent (comparative more impertinent, superlative most impertinent)

insolent, ill-mannered

irrelevant (opposite of pertinent)

Usage notes

• Although historically, definition 2 was the original meaning (derived from the French below), the meaning gradually changed to definition 1. More recently general usage has come to once again incorporate definition 2. Many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.

Synonyms

• See also cheeky

Noun

impertinent (plural impertinents)

An impertinent individual.

Source: Wiktionary

Im*per"ti*nent, a. Etym: [F., fr. L. impertinens, -entis; pref. im- not + pertinens. See Pertinent.]

1. Not pertinent; not pertaining to the matter in hand; having no bearing on the subject; not to the point; irrelevant; inapplicable. Things that are impertinent to us. Tillotson. How impertinent that grief was which served no end! Jer. Taylor.

2. Contrary to, or offending against, the rules of propriety or good breeding; guilty of, or prone to, rude, unbecoming, or uncivil words or actions; as, an impertient coxcomb; an impertient remark.

3. Trifing; inattentive; frivolous.

Syn.

– Rude; officious; intrusive; saucy; unmannerly; meddlesome; disrespectful; impudent; insolent.

– Impertinent, Officious, Rude. A person is officious who obtrudes his offices or assistance where they are not needed; he is impertinent when he intermeddles in things with which he has no concern. The former shows a want of tact, the latter a want of breeding, or, more commonly, a spirit of sheer impudence. A person is rude when he violates the proprieties of social life either from ignorance or wantonness. "An impertinent man will ask questions for the mere grafication of curiosity; a rude man will burst into the room of another, or push against his person, inviolant of all decorum; one who is officious is quite as unfortunate as he is troublesome; when he strives to serve, he has the misfortune to annoy." Crabb. See Impudence, and Insolent.

Im*per"ti*nent, n.

Definition: An impertinent person. [R.]

Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition