Impertinent vs Bossy - What's the difference?
impertinent | bossy | Related terms |
insolent, ill-mannered
* Tillotson
* Jeremy Taylor
irrelevant (opposite of pertinent)
An impertinent individual.
* (Maria Edgeworth)
Tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering.
(US, informal, dated) A cow or calf.
* about 1900 , O. Henry,
Impertinent is a related term of bossy.
As adjectives the difference between impertinent and bossy
is that impertinent is insolent, ill-mannered while bossy is tending to give orders to others, especially when unwarranted; domineering or bossy can be ornamented with bosses; studded.As nouns the difference between impertinent and bossy
is that impertinent is an impertinent individual while bossy is (us|informal|dated) a cow or calf.impertinent
English
Adjective
(en adjective)- things that are impertinent to us
- How impertinent that grief was which served no end!
Usage notes
Although, historically, definition 2 was the original (derived from the French below) usage; meaning gradually changed to definition 1. More recently general usage has come to, once again, incorporate definition 2. As many older speakers will consider definition 2 incorrect, avoiding the word altogether may be advisable. The construction "not pertinent" is one possible alternative.Synonyms
* See alsoNoun
(en noun)- comfortably recessed from curious impertinents
bossy
English
Etymology 1
Adjective
(er)Synonyms
* dictatorial, authoritarian, commanding, tyrannical, demanding, inflexible * see alsoEtymology 2
Diminutive of dialectal English boss, as used in the term ).Noun
(bossies)- A week before, while riding the prairies, Raidler had come upon a sick and weakling calf deserted and bawling. Without dismounting he had reached and slung the distressed bossy across his saddle, and dropped it at the ranch for the boys to attend to.