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imperative

adjective · noun

Simple meaning

Expressing a command.

Pronunciation

Say it like this:

ihmpehruhtiv

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US device voice
IPA pronunciation (US)

ɪmˈpɛɹətɪv

This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.

IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.

Word Review

Definition

Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.

adjective

  1. Essential; crucial; extremely important.

  2. Expressing a command; authoritatively or absolutely directive.

noun

  1. uncountablegrammar

    The grammatical mood expressing an order (see jussive). In English, the imperative form of a verb is the same as that of the bare infinitive.

  2. countable

    An essential action, a must: something which is imperative.

Word at a Glance

Difficulty
B2 · Upper Intermediate
Frequency
Moderately Common
Typical Use
Neutral / general English

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More ways to use imperative

  • “As nuclear weapons proliferate, preventing war becomes imperative.”adjective

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Common Patterns and Combinations

How this word naturally appears with others.

Relating / grammatical

imperative moodimperative sentence

Expressing

absolutely imperative

Duty

imperative duty

Other combinations

imperative necessitytherefore imperative

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Word Family

Related forms, grouped by how they connect.

Compound terms

Established multiword terms.

  • imperative formnounCompound term

    A mood that expresses an intention to influence the listener's behavior.

  • imperative moodnounCompound term

    A mood that expresses an intention to influence the listener's behavior.

  • categorical imperativenounCompound term

    The moral principle that behavior should be determined by duty.

  • hypothetical imperativenounCompound term

    A principle stating the action required to attain a desired goal.

More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin

Synonyms

Sense: essential

desperate

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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.