The first thing we are going to do before entering fully into the meaning of the term inopportune is to know its etymological origin. In this case, we can state that it derives from Latin, exactly from the word “inopportunus”, which can be translated as “that occurs outside of the appropriate time” and that it is the result of the sum of the following lexical components:
-The prefix “in-”, which is equivalent to “without” and “no”.
-The word “ob”, which is synonymous with “against”.
-The noun “portus”, which means “port”.
-The suffix “-no”, which is used to indicate “relationship” or “belonging”.
This is how one or that thing that appears or materializes outside of purpose or time is qualified.
The inopportune , therefore, is inappropriate or inconvenient . For example : “The governor decided to go on vacation at an inopportune time: he should not have traveled in the middle of an economic crisis of such magnitude,” “Sorry if my visit is inopportune, but I have to talk to Mr. López,” “ The tax increase was totally inappropriate.”
Among the words that can function as synonyms for inopportune, we can highlight some such as impertinent, importunate, annoying, untimely, untimely and even messy. On the contrary, among its antonyms we find relevant, timely or convenient.
Suppose that, at a time when the tourism industry is going through problems due to the drop in the number of travelers, a government decides to create a new tax that all tourists must pay when staying in a city. In this way, those who decide to travel must pay more. Due to the context, several protagonists in the tourism sector consider that the establishment of the tax is inappropriate, since it will cause an even greater contraction in activity. In another period, perhaps the measure would have been positive or, at least, it would not have a negative impact.
Take the case of a man who must take his wife to the hospital soon as she is about to give birth. When the subject tries to start his car, the vehicle does not respond. It can be said that the car failed at a very inopportune moment: just when the couple needed to move urgently, they were unable to do so.
A visitor arriving at a family home just at dinner time and an illness in the middle of an event can also be classified as inopportune .
In “The Bible”, specifically in Luke, it must be established that we also find a parable that is called the “Parable of the Unwelcome Friend”. Precisely this has inspired different painters and a good example of this is the painting titled “The Unwelcome Neighbor”, which was presented publicly in 1895 and was made by the British painter William Holman Hunt (1827 – 1910), which is considered one of the fathers of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
That work cited is currently part of the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria, which is located in Melbourne (Australia).