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{%type%} Definitions

WordNet 3.0Copyright Princeton University
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Short "hint"

Something that must be done urgently. The form of a verb that expresses an order.

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Usage examples (36)
  • Every man has his own destiny; the only imperative is to follow it, to accept it, no matter where it leads him.
  • A long-term imperative, but a short-term challenge.
  • As nuclear weapons proliferate, preventing war becomes imperative
  • In traditional tragedy, these are prescriptives; the imperative is absolute -- must, not should.
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We give special thanks to our LearnThat volunteers, as well as Princeton University and Wiktionary for their Open Source word data. We're also grateful for the support given by Google, Wordnik.com, Dictionary.com, Stands4.com and YouTube, OEDILF.com, Kylescholz.com, Best-Practice.com, Forvo.com, as well as the generous Creative Commons community.