peremptory
PRONUNCIATION:
(puh-REMP-tuh-ree)
MEANING:
adjective:
1. Dictatorial.
2. Expressing command or urgency.
3. Not admitting any question or contradiction.
ETYMOLOGY:
From Latin peremptorius (decisive), from perimere (to take away), from per- (thoroughly) + emere (to take). Ultimately from the Indo-European root em- (to take or distribute) that is also the source of words such as example, sample, assume, consume, prompt, ransom, vintage, and redeem.
USAGE:
"'Easily provoked by minor irritations,' wrote Dimbleby about this period, '[Charles] became uncharacteristically impatient and peremptory.' The smallest things would prompt verbal abuse or 'sudden outbursts of rage'."
Catherine Bennett; In Princes We Trust ... to Do Absolutely Nothing Useful; The Observer (London, UK); Sep 27, 2009.
Explore "peremptory" in the Visual Thesaurus.
A THOUGHT FOR TODAY:
The idealists and visionaries, foolish enough to throw caution to the winds and express their ardor and faith in some supreme deed, have advanced mankind and have enriched the world. -Emma Goldman, social activist (1869-1940)
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