imprisoner 
imprisoner (im-priz'n-er), n. 
ons another. 
3020 
Onp who imDris- Perceyuynge the improfytable weedes apperlng which 
wyll annoy his corne or heroes. 
Sir T. Elyot, The fiovernour, i. 23. 
[< F. im- 
Unprogres- 
state of being imprisoned; confinement in or 
as if in prison ; any forcible restraint within 
bounds. 
Imprisonment and poison did reveal 
The worth of Socrates. 
Cathedral cities in England, imperial cities without man- 
ufactures iu Germany, are all in an improyressive condi- 
tion. De Quincey. 
improgressively (im-pro-gres'iv-li), adv. Un- 
baniel. To H. Wriothesly. progressively. Hare. [Rare.] 
All his sinews woxen weake and raw improlifict (im-pro-lif'ik), a. [< (-3 + pro- 
lific."] Uuprolific. Latham. 
improlificatet (im-pro-lif 'i-kat), v. t. [< in- 2 + 
prolificate.'] To impregnate. 
[This] may be a mean to improlificate the seed. 
Sir T. Browne, Vulg. Err., vli. 16. 
ic purpose of giving redress. Duress of mrnrominent (im-prom'i-nent), a. [< in- 3 + 
<,., ftiivaaa ValRP ITfTnTl^nn WIGHT ****!'* * T r -, ", * j. 1 
t whi-h is without l ul atitlwritv prominent.] In zool., not prominent; less 
prominent than usual ; but little raised above 
the surface or advanced from a margin. 
Through long enprisonment, and hard constraint, 
Which lie endured in his late restraint. 
Spenser, F. Q., I. x. 2. 
Constructive imprisonment, such a restraint upon per- 
sonal liberty, though without actual imprisonment within 
walls, as the law may treat as equivalent to actual ini^ 
prisonment for th 
=Syn. Incarceration, etc. (see captivity); custody, duress, 
durance. 
improbability (im-prob-a-bil'i-ti), n. [= F. imprompt (im-prompf), a. [< L. impromptus, 
improbabilite = Sp. improbabilidad = Pg. im- 
probabilidade = lt. improbabilitd ; < L. as if *i- 
probabilita(t-)s, < improbabilis, inprobabilis, im- 
probable : see improbable and -bility.] Want of 
probability ; unlikelihood. 
It is a meere improbability, yea and an impossibility, 
that this should be the true Serpent. 
inpromptus, not ready, < in- priv. + promptvs, 
ready: see prompt.] Not ready; unprepared; 
sudden. [Rare.] 
Nothing, I think, in nature, can be supposed more terri- 
ble than such a rencounter, so imprompt ! so ill-prepared 
to stand the shock of it as Dr. Slop was. 
impropriation 
Good Friday are substituted for the usual mass 
of the Roman ritual. They are sung according to the 
revision of Palestrina in 1560 only in the Sistine Chapel at 
Koine, but to other plain-chant melodies in England and 
some parts of the continent of Europe. 
improperly (im-prop'er-li), adv. [< ME. j'wi- 
properlich; < improper 1 + -ly".] In an improp- 
er manner; not fitly; unsuitably; incongruous- 
ly: as, to speak or write improperly. Improperly 
equivalent, in the theory of numbers, said of two forms 
either of which can be converted into the other by a trans- 
formation the determinant of which is equal to negative 
unity. 
impropertyt (im-prop'er-ti), . [< improper 1 
+ -ty, after property. Cf. impropriety.] Im- 
propriety. 
improperyt, [^ OF- improperie, also impro- 
pere, < LL. improperium, inproperium , reproach, 
< L. improperare, inproperare, reproach, appar. 
a corruption of "improbrare, reproach, cast 
upon as a reproach, < in, on, + probrnm, a re- 
proach.] Reproach. 
Sara, the daughter of Raguel, desiring to be delivered 
from the improper}/ and imbraiding, as it would appear, 
of a certain default wherewith one of her father's hand- 
maidens did imbraid her and cast her in the teeth, forsook 
all company. Beeon, Works, 1. 131. 
impropitioust (im-pro-pish'us), a. [< in- s + 
propitious.] Not propitious ; unpropitious. 
I am sorry to hear in the mean time that your dreams 
were Unpropitious. Sir H. Wotton, Keliquia?, p. 574. 
Sterne, Tristram Shandy, it 9. 
'Coryat, Crudities, 1. 115. impromptu (iin-promp'tu), adv. [< L. inpromp- 
improbable (im-prob'a-bl), . [= F. improbable tu, in readiness : in, in ; promptu, abl. of promp- improportiont (im-pro-por'shon), n. 
If a man be inclined to a lesser good more than to a 
greater, he will, in action, betake himself to the lesser 
good and desert the greater, merely out of the impropor- 
tion of the two inclinations or judgments to their objects. 
Sir K. Diyby, .Nature of Man's Soul, xi. 
probabilis, deserving of approval: see probable.'] impromptu (im-promp'tu), a. and n. [= F. im- 
Not probable; not likely to be true; not to 
be expected under the circumstances of the 
case. 
promptu, n.; < impromptu, adv.'] I. a. Prompt; 
casion: as, an impromptu, epigram. 
He made multitudes of impromptu acquaintances. 
G. A. Sala, Make your Game, p. 213. 
II. n. 1. Something said or written, played, 
etc., at the moment, or without previous study 
or preparation; an extemporaneous composi- 
tion or performance. 
These [verses] were made extempore, and were, as the 
French call them, impromptus. Dryden. 
2. Inmusic: (a) An extemporized composition; 
an improvisation, (b) A composition in irregu- 
lar form, as if extemporized ; a fantasia. 
Bp. Hurd, On the Prophecies, App. improper 1 (im-prop'er), a. [< ME. improper, 
o-bat), v. t.; pret. and pp. im- < OF. and F. impropre = Pr. impropri = Sp. 
impropio, improprio = Pg. improprio = It. im- 
propio, improprio, < L. impropriws, inproprius, 
not proper, < in- priv. + propriun, proper : see 
proper.] If. Not proper or peculiar to any in- 
dividual; general; common. 
They are not to be adorned with any art but such im- 
proper ones as nature is said to bestow, as singing and 
poetry. Fletcher. 
2. Not of a proper kind or quality; not adapted 
to or suitable for the purpose or the circum- 
stances; unfit; unbecoming; indecorous: as, 
an improper medicine; an improper appoint- 
ment ; improper conduct or language. 
The banish'd Kent, who in disguise 
Follow'd his enemy king, and did him service 
Improper for a slave. Shak., Lear, v. 3. 
3. Not proper in form or method ; not accord- 
ing to nature, truth, rule, or usage ; abnormal ; 
irregular; erroneous: as, improper develop- 
ment; improper fractions; improper pronunci- 
ation ; an improper use of words. 
If this were played upon a stage now, I could condemn 
It as an improbable fiction. Shak., T. N., iii. 4. 
When two armies fight, it is not improbable that one of 
them will be very soundly beaten. 
Macaulay, Sir William Temple. 
improbably (im-prob'a-bli), adv. In an improb- 
able manner; without probability. 
Dioneth, an imaginary king of Britain, or duke of Corn- 
wall, who improbably sided with them against his own 
country, hardly escaping. Stilton, Hist. Eng., iii. 
A few years more may, not improbably, leave him [Gib- 
bon] without one admirer. 
I 
improbate (im'pro 
probated, ppr. improbating. [< L. improbatus, 
inprobatus, pp. of improbare, inprobare (> ult. 
E. improve 3 , q. v.), disapprove, < in- priv. + 
probare, approve : see prove. Cf . approbate, 
reprobate.] To disallow; refuse to approve. 
Bailey. [Rare-] 
improbation (im-pro-ba'shon), n. [= F. impro- 
batioii = Pg. im/irovaqao, <! L. improbatio(n-), 
inprobatio(n-), disapproval, < improbare, inpro- 
bare, disapprove : see improbate.] If. The act 
of disallowing; disapproval. Bailey. 2. In 
Scots law, the act by which falsehood or forgery 
is proved; an action brought for the purpose 
of having some instrument declared false or 
forged. 
improbative (im-prob'a-tiv), a. [= F. improba- 
tif= It. improbativo ; asimprobate + -ive.] Dis- 
proving or disapproving; tending to disprove; 
containing or expressing disproof or disapprov- 
al. [Rare.] 
"The form or mode of treatment," he [Dante] says, "is 
poetic, flctive, . . . probative, improbative, and positive 
of examples." Lowell, Among my Books, 2d ser., p. 44. 
improbatory (im-prob'a-to-ri), a. [< improbate 
+ -on.] In Scots tac,"saine as improbative. 
improbity (im-prob'i-ti), . [= F. improbit^ = 
Pg. improbidade = It. improbita, < L. improbi- 
ta(t-)s, inprobita(t-)s, badness, dishonesty, < im- 
probus, inprobus, bad, < in- priv. + probus, good : 
He disappear'd, was rarify'd ; 
For 'tis improper speech to say he dy'd : 
He was exhal'd. Dryden. 
And to their proper operation still 
Ascribe all good ; to their improper, ill. 
Pope, Essay on Man, ii. 58. 
Improper conversion, in logic. See conversion. 2. Im- 
proper fraction. S_ee fraction, 4. =Syn. Unsuitable, in- impropriate (irn-pro'pri-at), a. 
appropriate, unseemly, indecorous. 
, , . , u ,,^ m ,,, 
see probity.] Lack of probity ; want of mteg- improper 2 !, f. t. [< ML. impropriare, take as 
rity or rectitude of principle ; dishonesty. 
Nor yet dissembling the great abuse whereunto . . . 
this [the custom of processions] had grown by men's im- 
probity and malice. Booker, Eccles. Polity, v. 41. 
improficience (im-pro-fish'ens), n. [< jw-3 + 
proficience.] Same as improficiency. 
one's own: see impropriate, '.] To impropri- 
ate. 
Man is impropred to God for two causes. 
Bp. Fieher, Works, p. 267. 
Improper and inclose the sunbeams to comfort the rich 
and not the poor. Bp. Jewell, Works, II, 671. 
shon), n. [< L. 
improperare, inprope- 
But this misplacing hath caused a deflcience, or at least improperationt (im-prop-e-ra' 
a great improfictunce, m the sciences themselves. r ;f ;,,.,,., ,.,; ,,-,,/ \ < ", 
Bacon, Advancement of Learning, ii. &&l _1 ^?._ . i 7' .... . $1 
improficiency (im-pro-fish'en-si), n. [< in-3 + 
proficiency."] Lack of proficiency. 
For my part, the excellency of the Ministry, since waited 
on by such an hii proficiency, increases my presaging fears 
of the approaching misery of the people. 
Boyle, Works, I. 35. improperia (im-pro-pe'ri-a), n. pi. [ML., pi. of 
unprofitable! (im-prof'i-ta-bl), a. [= F. im- LL. improperium, inproperium, a reproach : see 
profitable; as in-3 + profitable.] Unprofitable, impropery.] Antiphons and responses which on 
a dsgrace A roach ; a taunt 
Omitting these vnproperatwns and ternw of scurrility. 
*"' T - Jlrowne. 
vmproportionamlis, \ JU. - priv. T LiLi. 
'proportionabilis, proportionable: see propor- 
tionable.] Not proportionable. 
I am a rhinoceros if I had thought a creature of her 
symmetry could have dar'd so improportionable and ab- 
rupt a digression. B. Jonnon, Cynthia's Revels, i. 3. 
improportionatet (im-pro-por'shon-at), a. [= 
Sp. Pg. improporcionado = It. improporzionato ; 
as tn-3 + proportionate."] Not proportionate; 
not adjusted. 
The cavity is improportionate to the head. 
J. Smith, Portrait of Old Age, p. 59. 
impropriate (im-pro'pri-at), v. ; pret. and pp. 
impropriiited, ppr. impropriating. [< ML. im- 
propriatus, pp. of impropriare, take as one's 
own, < L. in, in, to, + propriuy, own : see prop- 
er. Cf. appropriate, expropriate. Cf. also im- 
proper 2 ."] I. trans. 1. To appropriate for one's 
own or other private use ; appropriate. 
For the pardon of the rest, the king thought it not fit it 
should pass by parliament : the better, being matter of 
grace, to impropriate the thanks to himself. 
Bacon, Hist. Hen. VII. 
Well may men of eminent guifts set forth as many 
forms and helps to praier as they please, but to impose 
them upon Ministers lawfully call d. and sufficiently tri'd, 
as all ought to be, ere they be admitted, is a supercilious 
tyranny, impropriating the Spirit of Uod to themselves. 
Milton, On Def. of Humb. Remonst. 
2. In Eng. eccles. law, to place in the hands of 
a layman, for care and disbursement, the profits 
or revenue of; devolve upon a layman or lay 
corporation. 
Impropriating the liuing of the Altar to them that liued 
not at the Altar. furchas, Pilgrimage, p. 130. 
Il.t intrans. To practise impropriation ; be- 
come an impropriator. 
Let the husband and wife infinitely avoid a curious dis- 
tinction of mine and thine. . . . When either of them be- 
gins to impropriate, it is like a tumor in the flesh, it draws 
more than its share. 
Jer. Taylor, The Marriage Ring (Sermon on Eph. v. 32, 33). 
._ [< ML. impro- 
priatiis, pp.: see the verb.] If. Appropriated 
to private use. 
Man gathered [the general mercies of God) . . . into 
single handfuls, and made them impropriate. 
Jer. Taylor, Works (ed. 1835), I. 904. 
2. In Eng. eccles. law, devolved into the hands 
of a layman. 
Many of these impropriate Tithes are . . . the spoils of 
dissolved Monasteries. 
BI>. Clir. Wordsworth, Church of Ireland, p. 280. 
impropriation (im-pro-pri-a'shon), n. [= Pg. 
impropriacao, < ML. impropriatio(n-), < impro- 
priare, take as one's own : see impropriate, v.] 
If. The act of appropriating to private use; 
exclusive possession or assumption. 
The Gnosticks had, as they deemed, the iiitpruprialion 
of all divine knowledge. 
Loe, Blisse of Brightest Beauty (1614), p. 29. 
