Importunately

Part of speech: adverb

Definitions

1. In a manner that exhibits persistent urgency and assertiveness, with continuous appeals that can be perceived as excessive or bothersome, behaving in a way that seeks attention through repeated requests or demands
2. In a way that is repeatedly insistent or urgent, often to the point of annoyance
3. Characterized by continuous and pressing requests that may overwhelm or trouble others

Etymology: Importunately is an adverb built from the adjective "importunate" and the suffix "-ly," so its history is largely the history of that adjective plus a common English ending. The suffix traces back through Old English "-līċe" and Proto-Germanic "*-līkô," a formation meaning "in the manner of," which is why "-ly" can be attached to almost any adjective to say how something is done. Adding it to "importunate" yields a word meaning "in a pestering, insistent way." The adjective it rests on comes from Latin "importunus," which combined "in-" (not) with "portus" (harbour, port). The original sense was "unfavourable" or "inconvenient," the image being of a place without a sheltering harbour, where a ship could not safely land. From there the idea of something troublesome or unwelcome shifted toward a person who presses too hard, and the adverb carries that sense of persistent, unwanted insistence.

Synonyms: insistently, urgently, persistently, demandingly, pressingly

Antonyms: gently, calmly, unobtrusively, patiently, tactfully