How to Use the imperative in a Sentence

the imperative

noun

• Passover is about the imperative to remember, both the good and the bad.
  — Lee Cowan, CBS News, 2 Apr. 2023
• The real-world stakes couldn’t be higher, and the imperative to act couldn’t be greater.
  — Stephen Hammer, New York Daily News, 16 Jan. 2024
• The first tenet is the imperative of a strong, stable Russian state.
  — Maria Snegovaya, Foreign Affairs, 16 Nov. 2023
• Suddenly, the mood shifts to the imperative, and with it, the beloved has — perhaps — appeared.
  — Bhanu Kapil Anne Boyer, New York Times, 4 May 2023
• Which brings us back to the imperative mentioned above.
  — Jon Wilner, The Mercury News, 7 Feb. 2024
• The moment hangs open, framed by curiosity, and kept safe from the imperative to name and tame.
  — Parul Sehgal, The New Yorker, 9 Sep. 2024
• So the imperative will be not only to beat the Portuguese but also to make sure that the margin is sufficient to match whatever the Dutch do against the Vietnamese.
  — John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 28 July 2023
• Nevertheless, for many, even all the information would not be enough, and in any case, the imperative must be to protect sources and methods.
  — David V. Gioe, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
• Instead, the imperative of the business and political classes is to move on.
  — TIME, 26 Oct. 2023
• With the Dodgers, and with the imperative to win, Gray likely would have been optioned repeatedly, shuttled between the major and minor leagues.
  — Bill Shaikin, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2023
• The Americans can’t be blamed for celebrating survival, but the imperative now is clear.
  — John Powers, BostonGlobe.com, 3 Aug. 2023
• Abbas’s central dilemma has always been how to balance the need for a peace deal with Israel with the imperative for national unity.
  — Khaled Elgindy, Foreign Affairs, 30 Aug. 2024
• But even small tweaks mark an act of resistance, one rooted in a sense of duty and faith in a near-term victory over Russia by Ukrainian forces, as much as the imperative of making ends meet.
  — Dominique Soguel, The Christian Science Monitor, 17 Mar. 2023
• The challenge for Michelin seems to be balancing the high standards that give the brand its power with the imperative to expand into markets that may not have many restaurants that meet those standards.
  — Julia Moskin, New York Times, 12 Sep. 2023
• Shaya and Fenves talk with correspondent Lee Cowan about how food can offer solace in the midst of suffering, and provide the imperative to remember.
  — David Morgan, CBS News, 30 Mar. 2023
• Trade needs to support the imperative of climate change action yet at the same time resist unhelpful protectionism.
  — Bybørge Brende, Fortune, 15 Jan. 2024
• But the imperative on both sides to avoid nuclear escalation would not only create parameters for the objectives sought and the means employed to achieve them.
  — Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
• Perhaps the most valuable lesson from sailing is the imperative of adaptability.
  — Kathryn Preston, Fortune, 4 June 2024
• All of this adds up to Hutchinson’s decision to spend time in states that do not have early nominating contests, with the imperative of staying on the debate stage competing with the strategy of going slow and steady in early states.
  — Emma Barnett, NBC News, 6 Sep. 2023
• Through their stories, we are reminded of the power of perseverance, the importance of representation, and the imperative of ensuring that every voice is heard in the halls of power.
  — Shelby Stewart, Essence, 28 Mar. 2024
• During the Hoxha years, Mr. Kadare treaded carefully between artistic freedom and the imperative of survival.
  — Harrison Smith, Washington Post, 2 July 2024
• American companies have found the nearest thing to a safe space by focusing on the need for humanitarian relief across the entire region and on the imperative to stamp out antisemitism.
  — Michael Hiltzik, Los Angeles Times, 1 Nov. 2023
• Its agents need to balance the imperative of protecting the nation’s senior leaders against the public’s interest in participating in the democratic process.
  — Editorial Board, Washington Post, 20 July 2024
• With health care costs rising and cultural influences promoting sedentary lifestyles, the imperative to act has never been more urgent.
  — Liz Clark, Fortune, 7 May 2024
• The cellphone supply chain underscores both the difficulties and the imperative of making the United States less dependent on China, where most smartphones are packaged and assembled.
  — Ro Khanna, Foreign Affairs, 20 Dec. 2022
• But liking or disliking Trump has nothing whatever to do with the imperative of highlighting the clear and present danger the unhinged ex-president continues to pose to our country and our system of democracy.
  — Mark Z. Barabak, Los Angeles Times, 11 Apr. 2023
• And doing so opens up the opportunity (or perhaps the imperative) to generalize.
  — IEEE Spectrum, 2 Mar. 2023
• But the imperative should be obvious — to ensure we never get used to attempts to murder a major-party presidential candidate.
  — The Editors, National Review, 16 Sep. 2024
• No less important is the imperative to try to pry open the possibility for conflict resolution down the road, a path currently being closed by Israel’s increasing, de facto annexation of the West Bank.
  — Natan Sachs, Foreign Affairs, 28 July 2023
• The liberalism of the 1960s that bequeathed us the current woke democracy brought with it in turn a veritable Third Bill of Rights, proclaiming the imperative justice of creating our own lifestyles, cultures, morality, and identity.
  — Charles Kesler, National Review, 20 June 2024

Last Updated: 11 Dec 2024