Unopportune

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Happening at a moment that is inconvenient, awkward, or badly chosen for the people involved
2. Arriving at a time that causes trouble or disruption, falling outside the most suitable or favorable moment
3. Describing an event or occasion that comes at the wrong time and makes things more difficult than they need to be

Etymology: "Unopportune" is simply "un-" attached to "opportune," so its story is really the story of "opportune." That base word came into English from Latin "opportunus," meaning "favourable" or "fit," and its original sense was closer to "conveniently placed," as in a harbour that lies in the path of the wind. The Latin roots combine "ob," "toward," with "portus," "port" or "harbour," so the image behind the word is a ship being carried toward a safe landing place. The negative prefix "un-" was added to give the opposite sense: an event that arrives at the wrong moment, when a ship would be driven onto rocks rather than into harbour. The word is a plain formation from English parts rather than a borrowing, so it carries no separate history beyond the two elements joined together.

Synonyms: inopportune, untimely, ill-timed, inconvenient

Antonyms: opportune, timely, convenient