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imperative
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show 187 more with this conextual meaning
  • Pearl, looking at this bright wonder of a house began to caper and dance, and imperatively required that the whole breadth of sunshine should be stripped off its front, and given her to play with.   (source)
    imperatively = in a demanding manner
  • But I cannot give him orders in this case: I cannot say 'Beware of harming me, Richard;' for it is imperative that I should keep him ignorant that harm to me is possible.   (source)
    imperative = essential
  • I have resolved every night, when I am not imperatively occupied by my duties, to record, as nearly as possible in his own words, what he has related during the day.   (source)
    imperatively = in a manner that demands attention
  • Not imperative, but good to have.†   (source)
  • But given the imperative of feeding the cities, the precipitous decline in the harvest was met with increased quotas and requisitions enforced at gunpoint.†   (source)
  • Only a familiar territory will allow them to fulfill the two relentless imperatives of the wild: the avoidance of enemies and the getting of food and water.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that the growing discord in our family be made to appear minor.†   (source)
  • It was the imperative of youth.†   (source)
  • He respected the power of faith, the benevolence of churches, the strength religion gave so many people ....and yet, for him, the intellectual suspension of disbelief that was imperative if one were truly going to "believe" had always proved too big an obstacle for his academic mind.†   (source)
  • No doubt Lord Stannis was wary, after the murder of Jon Arryn, but it was imperative that he sail for King's Landing at once with all his power, before the Lannisters could march.†   (source)
  • The evolutionary imperative that drove them to live in groups was the opportunity to kill them by the billions.†   (source)
  • But now, it is imperative that you understand why you cannot let Levana take you.†   (source)
  • It is absolutely imperative that you keep the potentially concussed patient awake at all times.†   (source)
  • We can't land during the bombing, but it's imperative you're not spotted," he says.†   (source)
  • Knowledge, of course, is always imperfect, but it seemed to me that when a nation goes to war it must have reasonable confidence in the justice and imperative of its cause.†   (source)
  • The first sentence was "This tome will endeavor to scrutinize, in quasi-inclusive breadth, the epistemology of ophthalmologically contrived appraisals of ocular systems and the subsequent and requisite exertions imperative for expugnation of injurious states," and as Violet read it out loud to her sister, both children felt the dread that comes when you begin a very boring and difficult book.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that everything be relocated to a safe distance before the bio-bomb went in.†   (source)
  • If you're right, then it's imperative that we get him out.†   (source)
  • If we one day make it back, I think it's imperative to understand what happened in order to prevent it from happening again.†   (source)
  • There is no way thai the cruciform can regenerate something out of these bare bones; even the terrible illogic of this accursed parasite must respect the imperative of the law of conservation of mass.†   (source)
  • In other words, there is a time imperative, a sort of urgency as the sands run out.†   (source)
  • It was imperative both for medical science and for art.†   (source)
  • Dear Mrs. Humphrey: I write in haste, having been summoned home most urgently by a family matter which it is imperative I respond to at once.†   (source)
  • I didn't have the energy to actually do that, so I took the imperative as rhetorical.†   (source)
  • It was plainly imperative we all got damn good at this, since SEALs use such nets to board and disembark submarines and ships and to get in and out of inflatable boats.†   (source)
  • He believed it imperative that the city protect its civic honor by producing the greatest such event in the world's history, a goal that seemed to be slipping from Chicago's grasp with each sweep of the clock's hands.†   (source)
  • It is imperative that you look presentable.†   (source)
  • She only patted my arm and said, "We can study imperatives tomorrow."†   (source)
  • We've traveled more leagues than you'd care to know, and it's imperative we see Jeod today.†   (source)
  • Clara was not especially keen on regular education, but she thought that in Miguel's case it was imperative that he be given a few hours of discipline every day and the opportunity to be with children his own age.†   (source)
  • I did not know at the time the word for saying one thing and doing another, but I did know plenty of practicing adults, and I was not going to be gypped of a well-dressed kitten by a moral imperative given to me by an exception to the rule!†   (source)
  • It seemed imperative that we get to the Boy Scout cam p, scramble into the main building, seal the doors, huddle on camp beds with our juice and coffee, wait for the all-clear.†   (source)
  • She moved through the darkness as if through water, exhausted and yet with purpose, changing Phoebe's diaper, warming her bottle, concentrating on the infant in her arms and the tasks before her—so urgent, so consuming and imperative—tasks that now only she could do, tasks that could not wait.†   (source)
  • But the very fact that the French were the most intransigent as regards releasing Germany from the cruelties of the Versailles treaty made all the more imperative the need to bring to the gathering at Darlington Hall at least one French gentleman with unambiguous influence over his country's foreign policy.†   (source)
  • According to William P. Foley II, the chairman of the company that owns Carl's Jr., the basic imperative of today's fast food industry is "Grow or die."†   (source)
  • It was imperative to stay together.†   (source)
  • But when a woman does stand up, it's imperative that outsiders champion her; we also must nurture institutions to protect such people.†   (source)
  • And I don't know whether she'll be pardoned," she lied, remembering her mom's imperative that she not talk about the Earth mission.†   (source)
  • Like why it's so imperative that I spend time with my dad?†   (source)
  • It is imperative that we talk as soon as possible.†   (source)
  • This order is imperative and must be obeyed.†   (source)
  • It became imperative that he take hold of the bottom rung of the sinuous ladder, which he did.†   (source)
  • Restoring order to my personal universe suddenly seemed imperative, as I refolded my T-shirts, stuffed the toes of my shoes with tissue paper, and arranged all the bills in my secret stash box facing the same way, instead of tossed in sloppy and wild, as if by my evil twin.†   (source)
  • A cattle drive, for all its difficulty, wasn't so imperative.†   (source)
  • Eating liver is either a) toxic or b) imperative for brain development.†   (source)
  • Internal imperatives are all the more powerful and therefore all the more of an inducement to revolt.†   (source)
  • Most important, we shared a deep reserve of humor, creativity in adverse circumstances, and the will to protect and maintain our own humanity despite the prison system's imperative to crush it.†   (source)
  • The central imperative of liberation theology—to provide a preferential option for the poor—seemed like a worthy life's goal to him.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that the movie capture the public's imagination.†   (source)
  • It is imperative to settle this matter swiftly, for obvious reasons.†   (source)
  • "It is imperative that we stay out of the media," Jay said.†   (source)
  • It's absolutely imperative that I see Monique de Raison.†   (source)
  • It was imperative to be as close as possible to put in motion the strategy that was rapidly coming into focus.†   (source)
  • It was imperative to transport the mysterious creature and David back to Rowan as soon as possible.†   (source)
  • It is imperative: no atomic device must be detonated around the organisms.†   (source)
  • This question became more and more imperative as he went on.†   (source)
  • I believe in the struggle to remake ourselves and challenge each other in the spirit of eternal forgiveness, in the awareness that none of us knows for sure what happiness truly is, but each of us knows the imperative to keep searching.†   (source)
  • He uttered nothing but uncertain opinions about physical nature-and nothing but categorical imperatives about men.†   (source)
  • Secondly," he continued, dismissing her by turning back to Commander Whitney, "it's imperative that the link the press has made between the DeBlass and Starr homicides be broken.†   (source)
  • I did know Mike said was necessary; he had rerun problem soon as we learned that bright laddies at Richardson had snuck one home—he now gave us only one chance in fifty-three....with imperative need for Prof to go Earthside.†   (source)
  • What pressures will come to bear on American English to accommodate technology and the business imperatives behind it?†   (source)
  • It is imperative.†   (source)
  • Mornings brought sober hope, then the usual imperatives.†   (source)
  • Alessandro's infatuation with Janet was overwhelmed by the imperative of the guns, for they were deeper even than thunder.†   (source)
  • Joe was afraid of losing his stalker, but it was imperative that they continue to believe that he was unaware of them.†   (source)
  • It's imperative," she said.†   (source)
  • Inferior Federal Courts Imperative†   (source)
  • That places an even higher imperative on reducing the cost of labor.†   (source)
  • It was imperative for me to prove that a diet of small rodents would suffice to maintain a large carnivore in good condition.†   (source)
  • Of tacit blackmail in me implied imperative?†   (source)
  • I should hate to be responsible for anyone's death but it is absolutely imperative that this book never be published.†   (source)
  • Even when he ran up or down stairs, or discovered imperative duties outside, Randy carried his tiny transistor portable.†   (source)
  • Here the Babylonian imperative that one remain free raised even more difficult problems, as you can see.†   (source)
  • She could still stop young, unknowing children like Loch on the street and ask them imperative questions, "Where were you throwing that ball?"†   (source)
  • We recognize the imperative need for this development.†   (source)
  • "I profess, madam," answered the clergyman, with a grave obeisance, such as the lady's rank demanded, and his own good breeding made imperative—"I profess, on my conscience and character, that I am utterly bewildered as touching the purport of your words!"   (source)
    imperative = essential
  • I can assure you it is imperative we comply with this man's demands quickly.†   (source)
  • Of hunger and thirst, thirst is the greater imperative.†   (source)
  • The tone, the timbre excellent—imperative, very sharp.†   (source)
  • And it was imperative to the plan that we all go to sleep immediately.†   (source)
  • It is, moreover, 'imperative,' which means it is commanding and therefore absolutely authoritative.†   (source)
  • Eyes open, be alert-old imperatives, old movies.†   (source)
  • It was imperative to find the humor again.†   (source)
  • Jason Bourne against Carlos the Jackal and Bourne must win, it's imperative that he win.†   (source)
  • Everything about Woolf spoke in the imperative.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that they know the names and quickly put them with faces.†   (source)
  • He took a deep breath as he picked it up, his thoughts racing, control imperative.†   (source)
  • What made it even worse was that the age-old imperative Love your father and mother!†   (source)
  • Getting as much sleep as we could on the flight was imperative.†   (source)
  • And it's imperative that all forward-looking people impress this on the likes of Sir Leonard.†   (source)
  • Saving women's lives is imperative, but it is not cheap.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that he say something intelligent, but everything was blank.†   (source)
  • I knew it was a risk, but getting on the ground was imperative.†   (source)
  • It was imperative they meet immediately!†   (source)
  • It took place on the other side of the imperative that pushed him into conquest after conquest.†   (source)
  • But for an absolute holiday, a rest from a   (source)
  • Disarmament, with mutual honor and confidence, is a continuing imperative.†   (source)
  • In pondering how this disaster could have occurred, it is imperative to remember that lucid thought is all but impossible at 29,000 feet.†   (source)
  • I'm hoping to be able to reveal this to my father soon enough, but, for tonight, discretion is imperative.†   (source)
  • I realized I couldn't move or change position, at least in broad daylight I couldn't, and it was imperative I hide the blood which was leaking from my battered body.†   (source)
  • I would like to understand how they view the world; what they are likely to count as a moral imperative; what they would be prone to value and what to disdain.†   (source)
  • It was only that he could not split himself the way he once had; could not choose between imperatives.†   (source)
  • Our air capability has been devastated by the attacks; it's imperative we protect the few resources we have left.†   (source)
  • We should only attempt it if we feel that it is imperative to understand what the Core fears from Hyperion.†   (source)
  • I guess all four of us were Christians, and if we were thinking like ordinary law-abiding U.S. citizens, we would find it very hard to carry out the imperative military decision, the overriding one, the decision any great commander would have made: these guys can never leave this place alive.†   (source)
  • And it was now above all imperative to express scientific observations in precise mathematical terms.†   (source)
  • It was said they had brought to light "the vitality of great ideals overlaid by the deposits of centuries," that they had "sharpened the moral imperatives that come out of a religious conscience."†   (source)
  • We made love three times that night, each time responding to slow, sweet imperatives of touch and warmth and closeness and the escalating intensity of sensation.†   (source)
  • It is an imperative.†   (source)
  • It seemed like every open piece of wall had a Thanksgiving decoration taped to it, turkeys and Pilgrims and corn husks, and you got the sense that holidays there were imperative, important, because there wasn't much else to look forward to.†   (source)
  • That's what he thought of every time he left Gabby for the day, but now the notion struck him as imperative.†   (source)
  • 'It's imperative,' answered Reilly.†   (source)
  • This truth is mathematically demonstrable, everywhere verifiable; it is the single eternal imperative controlling everything we do.†   (source)
  • An absence of aim and purpose, so that the foot soldier is left without the moral imperatives to fight hard and winningly.†   (source)
  • Shaken and alone, enwrapt in the darkness, terrified of an ultimate meaning rushing at him, he gathered himself and uttered the final, flashing imperative: "NO!†   (source)
  • So apparently your sister is going ballistic and your mom and Lydia are combing the neighborhood looking for you and the rehearsal is at six-thirty and they think you might ditch that too so it's just imperative that they find you before then.†   (source)
  • While Nana considered it imperative to keep the dogs cool, she'd never bothered to add cooling ducts that led to the office.†   (source)
  • He rejected that idea utterly: paying attention to individual patients was a moral imperative; it was also essential to controlling tb in communities, as he'd proven in Cange.†   (source)
  • Reexamination of Facts Not Imperative†   (source)
  • I've got the Towson sisters leading Bible study this morning, and if you knew them, you'd understand why it's imperative that I don't leave them to their own devices.†   (source)
  • It's imperative.†   (source)
  • But also for the boy's own well-being, so that he might feel the imperative to join the battle and to win it.†   (source)
  • It's imperative, I told you that!†   (source)
  • Young lady, what you miscalled your 'moral instinct' was the instilling in you by your elders of the truth that survival can have stronger imperatives than that of your own personal survival.†   (source)
  • I've been reviewing the imperative.†   (source)
  • Wasn't it the human dilemma to dream of being part of the larger community but, in the face of everlasting death, always to operate on personal and family imperatives?†   (source)
  • Doing homework is imperative; some runners habitually drift in or out in the homestretch or on turns, and the jockey who can arm himself with this knowledge and position himself on the rail behind such a horse can ensure himself a clear path of escape.†   (source)
  • "Dagny, it's imperative, it's crucial, there's nothing to be done about it, to refuse is out of the question, in times like these one has no choice, and—" She glanced at her watch.†   (source)
  • He said, in the soft, stubborn whine of a voodoo incantation, "It's a moral imperative, universally conceded in our day and age, that every man is entitled to a job.†   (source)
  • The list on the wall contains about sixty imperatives—to assemble the slides for upcoming speeches, to get Lazarus a Bible and a pair of nail clippers, to give another patient the wristwatch he bought for him in the Miami airport, to obtain sputum samples from some of the patients with drug-resistant tb and take them to Boston for testing.†   (source)
  • The butler's pantry, as far as I am concerned, is a crucial office, the heart of the house's operations; not unlike a general's headquarters during a battle, and it is imperative that all things in it are ordered — and left ordered — in precisely the way I wish them to be.†   (source)
  • People like Catherine avoided the imperative approach because it only clouded a victim's thinking — and her friend Marie St Jacques was a victim now, not to the degree that poor David was, but a victim nevertheless.†   (source)
  • But unlike Sidney Martin, he did not believe in it as an intellectual imperative, or even as a professional standard.†   (source)
  • It's imperative.†   (source)
  • It was as if the present imperative of his captivity was to restore his strength-profoundly sapped by the drugs-and make him as comfortable as possible under the extraordinarily difficult circumstances.†   (source)
  • Just as there is an imperative to express gratitude formally and publicly to Lord Darlington, who has brought us here and made possible this present spirit of unity and goodwill, there is, I believe, an imperative to openly condemn any who come here to abuse the hospitality of the host, and to spend his energies solely in trying to sow discontent and suspicion.†   (source)
  • Lucien said, "We're involved in some litigation that makes it imperative that we locate a man named Ancil Hubbard.†   (source)
  • The editorials went on speaking of self-denial as the road to future progress, of self-sacrifice as the moral imperative, of greed as the enemy, of love as the solution-their threadbare phrases as sickeningly sweet as the odor of ether in a hospital.†   (source)
  • It's a social imperative.†   (source)
  • Surgery takes the basic imperative of the medical profession to its outermost border, where the human makes contact with the divine.†   (source)
  • imperative drummed into us by our mamas and papas functions so automatically that we feel ashamed of lying even to a secret policeman during an interrogation.†   (source)
  • an imperative enslaving him.†   (source)
  • You come too, said the young man in an imperative tone of voice to the chairman of the collective farm, and because by then he had downed a third glass of slivovitz, he added, If Mefisto misses you so much, we'll take him along.†   (source)
  • It was a small, more or less unbelievable man in a wide black hat, the kind Amish men wear, and he was hurrying mightily, short legs bobbing, cheerfully stomping through the world, fists swinging harmlessly, big feet toeing out, back bent as though it were imperative that he get there first with the tip of his hat and his (head tipped sideways, like the head of a swimmer) nose.†   (source)
  • She took his dictation with care, but because of his runaway fervor, in some haste, so it was not until she got down to the job of typing it out for the printer that she began to glimpse seething in that cauldron of historical allusions and dialectical hypotheses and religious imperatives and legal precedents and anthropological propositions the smoky, ominous presence of a single word—repeated several times—which quite baffled and confounded and frightened her, appearing as it did in this otherwise persuasively practical text, this clever polemic which voiced with breezily scurrilous mockery the sly propaganda she had half heard more than once over the Bieganski dinner table.†   (source)
  • Since The Day, he had lived in the imperative present, not daring to plan beyond the next meal or the next day.†   (source)
  • While radiation was a danger, it could not be felt or seen, and therefore other dangers, and even annoyances, seemed more imperative.†   (source)
  • I wondered; but said nothing—Sebastian's life was governed by a code of such imperatives.†   (source)
  • Granny made it imperative, however, that I attend certain all-night ritualistic prayer meetings.†   (source)
  • It is imperative that you should catch the 11.05 from King's Cross to the north.†   (source)
  • For it appears to be an inborn and imperative need of all men to regard the self as a unit.†   (source)
  • I know why it was imperative he should leave America.†   (source)
  • The one absolute, the one imperative in that living creature.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that there be postulated against what or whom Ross's crimes had been committed.†   (source)
  • It was necessary for her to dominate and enslave, all her virtues—her strong lust to serve, to give, to nurse, to amuse—came from the imperative need for dominance over almost all she touched.†   (source)
  • He understood the overpowering impulse to kill without having a reason for killing the desire to beat against living skulls until they were pulp the passion to strangle the lust for murder that was more beautiful more satisfying more imperative than any lust he had known before.†   (source)
  • I found it very difficult to gauge the exact moment when it became imperative to dilute the tea with the boiling water, and more difficult still to concentrate on the small talk that was going on at my side.†   (source)
  • Residential segregation is imperative.†   (source)
  • A voice said imperatively, 'Water, quick,' as if whoever it was thought he could take a stranger unawares, and make him fork out.†   (source)
  • Owing to the peculiar nature of this crime, and owing to the fact that the deceased's body was all but destroyed, I deem it imperative that you examine one additional piece of evidence.†   (source)
  • It appears to be a necessity as imperative as eating and breathing for everyone to be forced to regard this chaos as a unity and to speak of his ego as though it were a one-fold and clearly detached and fixed phenomenon.†   (source)
  • They seemed caught in a single streak of motion, an imperative direction like the flight of a bullet that could not be stopped on its course.†   (source)
  • 'Why the devil won't it go in?' he muttered, and hauling it out completely, he stooped down and peered under the seat...A moment later a cry rang out into the night, and the great train came to an unwilling halt in obedience to the imperative jerking of the communication cord.†   (source)
  • Whenever I met any of my erstwhile comrades, they refused to acknowledge my existence in accordance with a party principle that made it imperative that all "traitors be isolated from the working class."†   (source)
  • His glance was quizzical, curious, imperative.†   (source)
  • The she-wolf's need to find the thing for which she searched had now become imperative.†   (source)
  • Then came a man's voice, angry and imperative: "Open up or we'll break the door in!"†   (source)
  • And even after that he must—it was an imperative passion—enjoy the favours of the lady.†   (source)
  • Wolf Larsen demanded, sharply and imperatively.†   (source)
  • His imperative need at present was to find a safe retreat, and this called for action.†   (source)
  • Neither did Kant when he devised the Cat egorical Imperative.†   (source)
  • But each time that she avoided George it became more imperative that she should avoid him again.†   (source)
  • For One Night Only, On account of imperative European engagements!†   (source)
  • He could withstand the pangs of hunger, but it was imperative to quench thirst.†   (source)
  • She said no more, even in answer to the Professor's imperative questioning.†   (source)
  • Then and there Venters found it imperative to postpone work for the present.†   (source)
  • They exposed him perilously, but were absolutely imperative.†   (source)
  • This time Wolf Larsen's command was thrillingly imperative.†   (source)
  • It was imperative that she should go home.†   (source)
  • Spencer I remembered enough to know that altruism was imperative to his ideal of highest conduct.†   (source)
  • He waved his hand in an imperative gesture of command.†   (source)
  • How dense he seemed to the imperative side of the issue—safety for the women!†   (source)
  • But as it was imperative to be swift their aim was necessarily erring.†   (source)
  • How imperative that was he could never have understood.†   (source)
  • Yet he saw how imperative it was to get there.†   (source)
  • We imperatively require a perception of, and a homage to, beauty in our companions.†   (source)
  • It was imperative I should see you this evening.†   (source)
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