1
as in domineering
fond of ordering people around
an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do
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2
as in arrogant
having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude
an imperious movie star who thinks she's some sort of goddess
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3
as in arbitrary
having or showing a tendency to force one's will on others without any regard to fairness or necessity
an office administrator with an imperious manner that really grates on people
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4
as in urgent
needing immediate attention
as war casualties mounted, the need for trained nurses became imperious
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of imperious
Her imperious, elderly father Herrmann (Sylvester Groth) has become disinhibited by dementia and is prone to touching his female caretaker (Patrycja Ziółkowska ) inappropriately, a problem Elsa doesn’t want to face any more than Lucy does.
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Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Annette Bening plays Beulah Jackson, the imperious matriarch of the massive 10-Petal Ranch.
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Noel Murray,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Starmer, by contrast, looks imperious on paper, with an overwhelming parliamentary majority and no way for opponents to challenge him until 2029.
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Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
Bundelkhand is represented by Maans ke Dahi Bade, a lamb-and-lentil recipe improvised by Maharaja Digvijaya Singh of Sailana, while Panna finds its spot through the imperious-sounding Aash-e-Sangsheer.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for imperious
Leslie Felperin,
HollywoodReporter,
15 May 2026
Annette Bening plays Beulah Jackson, the imperious matriarch of the massive 10-Petal Ranch.
—
Noel Murray,
Vulture,
15 May 2026
Starmer, by contrast, looks imperious on paper, with an overwhelming parliamentary majority and no way for opponents to challenge him until 2029.
—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
Bundelkhand is represented by Maans ke Dahi Bade, a lamb-and-lentil recipe improvised by Maharaja Digvijaya Singh of Sailana, while Panna finds its spot through the imperious-sounding Aash-e-Sangsheer.
—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
23 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for imperious
Recent Examples of Synonyms for imperious
Adjective
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Musk’s company has inked lucrative AI deals with Anthropic and Google and plans to be the domineering firm behind orbital data centers, which SpaceX has said could be deployed as early as 2028.
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Many figures within evangelicalism have promoted an aggressive, domineering, even abusive view of manhood—affixing to it, as Du Mez argues, the label biblical.
Adjective
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West Germany, arrogant attitude adjusted, pounded Chile, 4-1.
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Lasso, in his initial introduction to audiences, wasn’t the warm, pun-loving, inspirational coach audiences would eventually embrace through Apple +, but a slightly arrogant buffoon parodying the average American sports fan.
Adjective
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Hundreds of people have been detained and Serbia's police was accused of excessive force and arbitrary arrests.
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Hundreds of people have been detained and Serbia’s police was accused of excessive force and arbitrary arrests.
Adjective
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In his inital letter, Lehmkuhl agreed that there is an urgent need to clear debris and address the persistent odor of millions of pounds of rotting food at the site.
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The industry conversation around funding reform is urgent precisely because this generation deserves a system that matches their ambition and offers them a future.
Adjective
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In the nation’s gravest hour, the country’s authoritarian regime has crippled an effective response, say survivors, rescue workers and former officials.
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Some are fleeing authoritarian regimes, war or natural disasters.
Adjective
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The Irkutsk region, home to a Rosneft oil refinery, has experienced acute shortages for several days, with lines growing, Kharitonenko said.
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Extensive evidence suggests that treating acute psychiatric conditions in an ED setting yields poor clinical outcomes.
Adjective
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Plot synopsis House of the Dragon attempts to condense and dramatize the conflicting accounts presented in Fire & Blood—stitched together from testimonies and court chronicles—into a single authoritative narrative.
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They can be resolved through the application of authoritative expertise and through the organization’s current structures, procedures, and ways of doing things.
Adjective
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University students behind more than a year of protests against Vucic's increasingly autocratic rule in Serbia have been demanding early parliamentary elections for over a year but Vucic so far has refrained from setting the date.
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University students behind more than a year of protests against Vucic’s increasingly autocratic rule in Serbia have been demanding early parliamentary elections for over a year, but Vucic so far has refrained from setting the date.
Cite this Entry
“Imperious.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/imperious. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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