\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.
         Things that are impertinent to us.    --Tillotson.
         How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
                                               --Jer. Taylor.
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.
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 want of tact, the latter a want 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 grafication 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}.

\Im*per"ti*nent\, n.
An impertinent person. [R.]