imperative

Language: en

🇺🇸 /ˌɪˈmpɛrətɪv/

📖 Definitions

  1. adjective
    Of vital importance; crucial; absolutely necessary or required.; Giving an authoritative command; peremptory; commanding in tone or manner.; Relating to or expressing a command, as in grammar; denoting the mood of a verb used to give orders or make requests.
  2. noun
    An essential or urgent thing; something that is absolutely necessary.; The imperative mood in grammar; a verb form or clause expressing a command or request.; A principle or rule that commands or obligates one to act in a certain way, especially in ethics or philosophy.; In programming, a statement that commands the computer to perform a specific action, characteristic of imperative programming paradigms.

🔗 Details

Word forms

countable Plural: imperatives Comparative: more imperative Superlative: most imperative

Collocations

moral imperativecategorical imperativeimperative moodit is imperative thatstrategic imperativebusiness imperative

Derivatives

imperativelyimperativenessimperatival

Synonyms

crucialessentialvitalmandatorycommandobligationnecessity

Antonyms

optionalunnecessarytrivial

Commonly confused

important
EN: 'Imperative' is stronger than 'important,' implying absolute necessity or an unavoidable obligation rather than mere significance.
emperor
EN: Both derive from Latin 'imperare' (to command), but 'emperor' is a ruler while 'imperative' is an adjective/noun meaning essential or a command.

Spelling tips

EN: Remember 'imperative' has no 'o' after the 'p' (unlike 'emperor'), and ends in '-ative' not '-itive'.

💬 Examples

  1. It is imperative that we act quickly to prevent further damage.

  2. She spoke in an imperative tone that left no room for argument.

  3. In the sentence 'Close the door,' the verb 'close' is in the imperative mood.

  4. Reducing carbon emissions is a moral imperative for our generation.

  5. The imperative of the verb 'to run' is simply 'run.'

  6. Kant's categorical imperative states that one should act only according to rules that could become universal laws.

  7. An assignment statement like 'x = 5' is an example of an imperative in programming.