Imperious — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Imperious (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. fond of ordering people around

   "an imperious little boy who liked to tell the other scouts what to do"

   similar: authoritarian, authoritative, autocratic, bossy, despotic, dictatorial, domineering, masterful, overbearing, peremptory, tyrannical, tyrannous
   related: arrogant, assumptive, disdainful, fastuous, haughty, highfalutin, high-and-mighty, high-hat, huffy, important, lofty, lordly, overweening, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, proud, self-asserting, supercilious, superior, toplofty, uppish, uppity, commanding, controlling, dictating, regimental, arbitrary, high-handed, imperial, directorial, magisterial, aggressive, assertive, self-assertive, imperative, conceited, narcissistic, pompous, vain, all-powerful, almighty, omnipotent, firm, stern
   near: humble, meek, modest, unassuming, amenable, docile, obedient, tractable, indecisive, irresolute, acquiescent, compliant, passive, resigned, submissive, yielding

2. having a feeling of superiority that shows itself in an overbearing attitude

   "an imperious movie star who thinks she's some sort of goddess"

   similar: arrogant, assumptive, bumptious, cavalier, chesty, haughty, high-and-mighty, high-handed, high-hat, highfalutin, huffish, huffy, important, lofty, lordly, masterful, overweening, peremptory, pompous, presuming, presumptuous, pretentious, self-asserting, self-assertive, sniffy, stiff-necked, supercilious, superior, toplofty, uppish, uppity
   related: authoritarian, bossy, dominant, dominating, domineering, magisterial, pontifical, pontificating, condescending, disdainful, patronizing, impertinent, impudent, saucy, snobbish, snobby, snooty, blusterous, blustery, boastful, bombastic, braggart, bragging, braggy, cocky, swaggering, vain, vainglorious, complacent, conceited, egocentric, egoistic, egotistic, hubristic, narcissistic, orgulous, prideful, proud, self-affected, self-applauding, self-centered, self-complacent, self-conceited, self-pleased, self-satisfied, smug, stuck-up, self-flattering, self-loving, self-promoting, brash, forward, uninhibited, unreserved, extroverted, immodest
   opposite: humble, lowly, modest, unarrogant, unpretentious
   near: bashful, cowering, cringing, demure, diffident, introverted, mousy, overmodest, self-critical, self-doubting, sheepish, shrinking, shy, subdued, timid, acquiescent, compliant, deferential, meek, passive, submissive, unaggressive, unassertive, unassuming, unobtrusive, yielding, quiet, reserved, retiring

3. 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"

   similar: arbitrary, dictatorial, high-handed, peremptory, willful
   related: arrogant, commanding, demanding, dominant, domineering, haughty, imperative, lordly, masterful, overbearing, presumptuous, authoritarian, autocratic, despotic, totalitarian, tyrannical, tyrannous, capricious, changeable, erratic, inconsistent, mercurial, whimsical, biased, inequitable, partisan, prejudiced, unequal, unfair, unjust, unrealistic, unreasonable, unconscionable, unethical, unprincipled, unscrupulous
   near: balanced, disinterested, dispassionate, equal, equitable, evenhanded, fair, impartial, just, nonpartisan, objective, rational, reasonable, understanding, unbiased, unprejudiced, ethical, honorable, irreproachable, law-abiding, moral, principled, unimpeachable

4. needing immediate attention

   "as war casualties mounted, the need for trained nurses became imperious"

   similar: acute, burning, clamant, compelling, critical, crying, dire, emergent, exigent, imperative, importunate, instant, necessitous, pressing, urgent
   related: demanding, extreme, immediate, insistent, intense, overriding, crucial, desperate, grave, life-and-death, serious, severe, vital, dangerous, explosive, hazardous, perilous, precarious, unstable
   opposite: noncritical, nonurgent
   near: incidental, low-pressure, minor, negligible, trivial, unimportant, nonthreatening, safe, stable