noun ·Rare ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun

1. 1
   An order or imperative phrased obliquely as a question, such as "would you mind closing the window?"

   "Since whimperatives look like questions, the lowest hypersentence must be interrogative."

Example

More examples

"Since whimperatives look like questions, the lowest hypersentence must be interrogative."

Etymology

Blend of whimper + imperative. Coined by Jerrold Sadock in a 1970 essay.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.