Legal Definitions - importune

Importune (verb)

To importune means to persistently and often annoyingly request or solicit someone for something, sometimes with a degree of insistence that makes the request difficult to ignore or refuse.

• Example 1: Business Context

  A software vendor repeatedly called and emailed a potential client over several weeks, even after the client had clearly stated they were not interested in purchasing the product at that time. The vendor's persistent follow-ups, despite the client's explicit rejections, constituted an act of importuning.

  Explanation: This illustrates importuning because the vendor was making persistent, unwelcome requests for a sale, despite the client's clear disinterest, making the solicitation bothersome and difficult to dismiss.

• Example 2: Personal Context

  After a charity event, a volunteer continued to approach attendees, asking for additional donations even after they had already contributed and were trying to leave. The volunteer's repeated and insistent requests for more money, even as people were departing, was seen as importuning.

  Explanation: Here, the volunteer was importuning the attendees by persistently soliciting further donations, making the requests irksome and potentially uncomfortable due to their repetition and timing.

• Example 3: Public/Official Context

  A constituent repeatedly contacted their local representative's office, sending daily emails and making frequent phone calls, all urging the representative to vote a specific way on an upcoming bill. Despite receiving assurances that their views had been noted, the constituent continued to importune the office staff with their insistent demands.

  Explanation: This demonstrates importuning as the constituent was persistently and perhaps forcefully soliciting a specific action from the public official, potentially becoming irksome due to the frequency and insistence of the requests.