adjective
impertinent
Unrelated to the matter being considered.
The judge excludes impertinent details that have no bearing on the case.
Etymology
The negative prefix denies a relevant connection. This sense describes what does not belong to the matter at hand, rather than a person’s disrespectful manner.
More examples
- Though accurate, these statistics are impertinent to the question before us.
- We remove an impertinent paragraph about gardening from the budget report.
- The witness's clothing is impertinent to whether her account is true.
Forms
impertinent
Similar words
- irrelevant
- The usual everyday choice for something unrelated to the subject.
- immaterial
- Emphasizes that something cannot affect the decision or outcome.