Definition of IMPERATIVE (original) (raw)

Examples of imperative in a Sentence

Adjective

… I have begun to feel each time as if I am mutilating my antennae (which is how Rastafarians, among others, think of hair) and attenuating my power. It seems imperative not to cut my hair anymore. —Alice Walker, Living by the Word, (1981) 1988 This strange and distorted form of breathing could be interrupted for a minute or two by a strong effort of will, but would then resume its bizarre and imperative character. —Oliver Sacks, Awakenings, 1973 We had a long and interesting evening with the Katzenbachs. He and Lyndon discussed the imperative need to make Washington a law-abiding city and how to go about it. —Lady Bird Johnson 27 Jan. 1965, A White House Diary, 1970

“Eat your spinach!” is an imperative sentence. “Help” in the sentence “Help me!” is an imperative verb. a verb in the imperative mood People resented his imperative tone of voice. Noun

Ellroy has got to be the only writer who still uses "dig" as an imperative … —Laura Miller, New York Times Book Review, 20 May 2001 Indeed, under pressure from a new way of life in which radiant heat from woodburning stoves must circulate unimpeded by dividers, virtually every house with a chimney today has abandoned the closed-door imperative of the high-technology kitchen. —Maxine Kumin, In Deep, 1987 "Maturity" had been a code word … for marriage and settling down; "growth" implied a plurality of legitimate options, if not a positive imperative to keep moving from one insight or experience to the next. —Barbara Ehrenreich, New York Times Magazine, 20 May 1984

She considers it a moral imperative to help people in need. “Eat your spinach!” is in the imperative. “Go” and “buy” are imperatives in the sentence “Please go to the store and buy some milk.”

Recent Examples on the Web

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Losing weight is never simple but becomes more imperative in the event of recurrent stones. —Kumkum S. Patel, Verywell Health, 31 Jan. 2025 For those guiding them, staying cool-headed was imperative. —Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 27 Jan. 2025

Piccard argues that energy efficiency should be seen as an economic imperative, not just an ecological one. —Felicia Jackson, Forbes, 31 Jan. 2025 Meanwhile, some of the newcomers showing at the event seem happy to forgo commercial imperatives in favor of producing handcrafted one-offs that cannot always be easily recreated in large numbers. —Cathrin Schaer, WWD, 30 Jan. 2025 See all Example Sentences for imperative