You searched for: “peremptory
peremptory (adjective), more peremptory, most peremptory
1. A reference to the insistence on immediate attention or obedience; especially, in a brusquely imperious way: When someone says something in a peremptory manner, he or she wants people to stop what they're doing and respond to what has been dictated.
2. Used to describe an order, a command, etc. which one must obey without any questions, hesitations, or excuses: When a superior officer in the military gives a lower ranking person a peremptory instruction to do something, that soldier, sailor, marine, etc. must do it promptly without any stalling or delay.
3. Etymology: from Latin peremptorius, "decisive, final" from per, "away entirely" + emere, "to take" + -ory, "compulsory, mandatory".
A command that is dictatorial and must be obeyed immediately.
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This entry is located in the following unit: em-, emp-, empt-; sump-, -sum- (page 3)