Standard Lemma guide

inopportune

adj · 3 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: IH2 N AA2 P ER0 T UW1 N Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Unsuitable for some particular purpose.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • That was a most inopportune spot for a picnic.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

adj

Meaning 2

Happening/occurring at an inconvenient or inappropriate time.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Examples

  • The inopportune arrival of the bus cut short the interesting conversation.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

adjective

Meaning 3

not opportune

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

Examples

  • arrived at a most inopportune hour
  • an inopportune visit

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: opportune

History

Etymology

From Latin inopportūnus. By surface analysis, in- + opportune.

Across languages

Translations

31 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Bulgarian: неподходящ (nepodhodjašt) — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Catalan: inoportú — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Dutch: ongeschikt — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Dutch: ongepast — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • French: inopportun — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • German: ungeeignet — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • German: unpassend — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Hungarian: alkalmatlan — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Italian: inopportuno — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Portuguese: inoportuno — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Romanian: inoportun — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Ukrainian: недоре́чний (nedoréčnyj) — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Welsh: anghyfleus — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Welsh: amhridiol — unsuitable for some particular purpose
  • Bulgarian: ненавременен (nenavremenen) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Dutch: ongelegen — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • German: ungelegen — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • German: unpassend — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Greek: ανεπίκαιρος (anepíkairos) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Hindi: असामयिक (asāmyik) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Hungarian: alkalmatlan — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Macedonian: незгоден (nezgoden) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Portuguese: inoportuno — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Romanian: neoportun — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Romanian: inoportun — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Spanish: inoportuno — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Swedish: oläglig — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Ukrainian: недоре́чний (nedoréčnyj) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Ukrainian: несвоєча́сний (nesvoječásnyj) — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Welsh: anamserol — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time
  • Welsh: annhymig — at an inconvenient or inappropriate time