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The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 (gcide)

Impertinent \Im*per"ti*nent\, a. [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.
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Things that are impertinent to us. --Tillotson.
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How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
--Jer. Taylor.
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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.
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3. Trifing; inattentive; frivolous.

Syn: Rude; officious; intrusive; saucy; unmannerly;
meddlesome; disrespectful; impudent; insolent.

Usage: {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 lack of tact, the latter a lack 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 gratification 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}.
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Impertinent \Im*per"ti*nent\, n.
An impertinent person. [R.]
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