From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Imperious \Im*pe"ri*ous\, a. [L. imperiosus: cf. F.
imp['e]rieux. See {Imperial}.]
1. Commanding; ascendant; imperial; lordly; majestic. [Obs.]
"A vast and imperious mind." --Tilloison.
[1913 Webster]
Therefore, great lords, be, as your titles witness,
Imperious. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
2. Haughly; arrogant; overbearing; as, an imperious tyrant;
an imperious manner.
[1913 Webster]
This imperious man will work us all
From princes into pages. --Shak.
[1913 Webster]
His bold, contemptuous, and imperious spirit soon
made him conspicuous. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
3. Imperative; urgent; compelling.
[1913 Webster]
Imperious need, which can not be withstood.
--Dryden.
Syn: Dictatorial; haughty; domineering; overbearing; lordly;
tyrannical; despotic; arrogant; imperative;
authoritative; commanding; pressing.
Usage: {Imperious}, {Lordly}, {Domineering}. One who is
imperious exercises his authority in a manner highly
offensive for its spirit and tone; one who is lordly
assumes a lofty air in order to display his
importance; one who is domineering gives orders in a
way to make others feel their inferiority.
[1913 Webster]
From WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006) [wn]:
imperious
adj 1: having or showing arrogant superiority to and disdain of
those one views as unworthy; "some economists are
disdainful of their colleagues in other social
disciplines"; "haughty aristocrats"; "his lordly manners
were offensive"; "walked with a prideful swagger"; "very
sniffy about breaches of etiquette"; "his mother eyed my
clothes with a supercilious air"; "a more swaggering mood
than usual"- W.L.Shirer [syn: {disdainful}, {haughty},
{imperious}, {lordly}, {overbearing}, {prideful},
{sniffy}, {supercilious}, {swaggering}]
|
