audacity
Americannoun
-
boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.
- Synonyms:
- foolhardiness, temerity, grit, spunk, nerve
- Antonyms:
- prudence, discretion
-
effrontery or insolence; shameless boldness.
His questioner's audacity shocked the lecturer.
- Synonyms:
- brashness, impertinence, impudence
- Antonyms:
- discretion, prudence
-
Usually audacities audacious or particularly bold or daring acts or statements.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of audacity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English audacite, equivalent to Latin audāc- (stem of audāx “bold, daring”) + -ity
Explanation
If you have audacity then you're one daring — and perhaps reckless — character. Running a red light with three previous tickets under your belt certainly shows audacity. And stupidity. The noun audacity developed from the Latin word audacitas, which means “boldness." So someone who shows audacity makes bold moves — and isn't afraid of the consequences. Audacity can be admired or frowned upon, depending how far it's taken and how it rears its head. But as former British Prime Minister and novelist Benjamin Disraeli once said, “Success is the child of audacity.”
Vocabulary lists containing audacity
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In an essay in The American Scholar in 2014, Mr. Etzioni, referring to Mr. Obama, recalled: “In his book ‘The Audacity of Hope,’ he emphasized that individual rights must be balanced with social responsibilities.
From New York Times • Jun. 1, 2023
The former president has also won two Grammys for audiobook reading for two of his memoirs, “The Audacity of Hope” and “A Promised Land.”
From Washington Times • Sep. 4, 2022
If Gingrich writes his memoirs, he might consider as a title “The Audacity of Mendacity.”
From Washington Post • Aug. 5, 2022
However, if I were to perform this operation after I hit send on this message, Audacity hangs at the point where I click on the other system folder.
From Seattle Times • Jul. 2, 2022
Barack was writing what would become The Audacity of Hope—thinking through his beliefs and his vision for the country, threshing them into words on his legal pads late at night.
From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
