different between forcible vs important

English

Etymology

From Middle English forcible, forsable, from Old French forcible, from forcier (“to conquer by force”).

Adjective

forcible (comparative more forcible, superlative most forcible)

1. Done by force, forced.
   • 1674, John Milton, Paradise Lost, Book II, lines 790-96, [1]

     I fled; but he pursued (though more, it seems, / Inflamed with lust than rage), and, swifter far, / Me overtook, his mother, all dismayed, / And, in embraces forcible and foul / Engendering with me, of that rape begot / These yelling monsters, that with ceaseless cry / Surround me, as thou saw'st—

   • 1923, "Jim Crow Tendency," Time, 9 March, 1923, [3]

     Since the forcible ejection of pugilist Siki from the New York Bar in Paris, discussion of Negro rights has become serious.

   • 2008, U.S. Department of Justice – Federal Bureau of Investigation, Crime in the United States

     Forcible rape, as defined in the FBI’s Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, is the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Attempts or assaults to commit rape by force or threat of force are also included; however, statutory rape (without force) and other sex offenses are excluded.

2. (rare or obsolete) Having (physical) force, forceful.
3. Having a powerful effect; forceful, telling, strong, convincing, effective.
   • 1594, Richard Hooker, Of the Lawes of Ecclesiastical Politie, Book III, London: George Routledge & Sons, 1888, p. 207, [5]

     But that which hath been once most sufficient, may wax otherwise by alteration of time and place; that punishment which hath been sometimes forcible to bridle sin, may grow afterwards too weak and feebled.

   • c. 1598, William Shakespeare, Much Ado about Nothing, Act V, Scene 2, [6]

     Thou hast frighted the word out of his right sense, so forcible is thy wit.

   • 1611, King James Version of the Bible, Job 6:25 [7]

     How forcible are right words! but what doth your arguing reprove?

   • 1859, Francis Bacon, Historia Densi et Rari (1623), translated by James Spedding and Robert Leslie Ellis, in The Philosophical Works of Francis Bacon, edited by James Spedding, London: Longman & Co., 1861, Vol. II, section 388, p. 470,

     Sweet smells are most forcible in dry substances, when broken; and so likewise in oranges or lemons, the nipping off their rind giveth out their smell more […]

   • 1951, C. S. Lewis, Prince Caspian, Collins, 1998, Chapter 7,

     They all jumped up, shaking the water out of their ears and wringing their little blankets, and asked the Giant in shrill but forcible voices whether he thought they weren’t wet enough without this sort of thing.

4. Able to be forced.
   • 1831, Richard Burn, Joseph Chitty, Thomas Chitty, The Justice of the Peace and Parish Officer (volume 1, page 793)

     […] it seems that an entry is not forcible by the bare drawing up a latch, or pulling back the bolt of a door, there being no appearance therein of its being done by strong hand, or multitude of people; […]

   • 1835, Sir Thomas Edlyne Tomlins, Thomas Colpitts Granger, The Law-dictionary

     But an entry may be forcible, not only in respect of a violence actually done to the person of a man, but also in respect of any other kind of violence in the manner of the entry, as by breaking open the doors of a house […]

Derived terms

• forcible-feeble
• forcibly

Translations

References

• John A. Simpson and Edward S. C. Weiner, editors (1989) , “forcible”, in The Oxford English Dictionary, 2nd edition, Oxford: Clarendon Press, ?ISBN

English

Etymology

From Middle English important, from Medieval Latin important-, import?ns.

Pronunciation

• (Received Pronunciation) IPA^(key): /?m?p??t?nt/
• (General American) IPA^(key): /?m?p??t?nt/
• (rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /?m?po(?)?t?nt/
• (non-rhotic, without the horse–hoarse merger) IPA^(key): /?m?po?t?nt/

Adjective

important (comparative more important, superlative most important)

1. Having relevant and crucial value.
   • 1988, Robert Ferro, Second Son:

     For this was the most important thing, that when a person felt strongly about an issue in life, it mustn’t be ignored by others; for if it was, everything subsequent to it would turn out badly, even though there should seem to be no direct connection.
2. (obsolete) Pompous; self-important.

Synonyms

• significant
• weighty
• See also Thesaurus:important

Antonyms

• negligible
• ignorable
• petty
• slight
• unimportant

Derived terms

• importantly, importantness, unimportant, VIP

Related terms

• import
• importance

Translations

Catalan

Pronunciation

• (Balearic, Valencian) IPA^(key): /im.po??tant/
• (Central) IPA^(key): /im.pur?tan/

Adjective

important (masculine and feminine plural importants)

1. important

Derived terms

• importantment

Related terms

• importància

Further reading

• “important” in Diccionari de la llengua catalana, segona edició, Institut d’Estudis Catalans.
• “important” in Gran Diccionari de la Llengua Catalana, Grup Enciclopèdia Catalana.
• “important” in Diccionari normatiu valencià, Acadèmia Valenciana de la Llengua.
• “important” in Diccionari català-valencià-balear, Antoni Maria Alcover and Francesc de Borja Moll, 1962.

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??.p??.t??/

Adjective

important (feminine singular importante, masculine plural importants, feminine plural importantes)

1. important

2. significant

Derived terms

• importance

Verb

important

1. present participle of importer

Further reading

• “important” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Latin

Verb

important

1. third-person plural present active indicative of import?

Occitan

Pronunciation

Adjective

important m (feminine singular importanta, masculine plural importants, feminine plural importantas)

1. important

Related terms

• importància

Romanian

Etymology

From French important.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): [im.por?tant]

Adjective

important m or n (feminine singular important?, masculine plural importan?i, feminine and neuter plural importante)

1. important

Declension

Related terms

• importan??