impertinence
Americannoun
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unmannerly intrusion or presumption; insolence.
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impertinent quality or action.
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something impertinent, as an act or statement.
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an impertinent person.
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irrelevance, inappropriateness, or absurdity.
noun
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disrespectful behaviour or language; rudeness; insolence
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an impertinent act, gesture, etc
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rare lack of pertinence; irrelevance; inappropriateness
Etymology
Origin of impertinence
First recorded in 1595–1605; impertin(ency) + -ence
Explanation
You have to be sure your teacher has a good sense of humor before you criticize the way he dresses, otherwise you might be scolded for your impertinence. Impertinence means "being rude, insolent, or inappropriately playful." Impertinence seems like a word that was invented for adults to use when they're complaining about rude or disrespectful kids. Sometimes you might think you're being funny or playful, but what you're saying can come across as impertinence to someone who expects to be treated with respect. The Latin root is impertinentem, or "not belonging." When someone shows impertinence, they act in a way that doesn't belong, or fit the situation.
Vocabulary lists containing impertinence
To Kill a Mockingbird
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Grade 11, List 4
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"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
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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.
Impertinence, hauteur, sudden repentance, happiness, rebellion and fatigue supplant each other with lightning speed on her mobile, adolescent face.
From Time Magazine Archive
Impertinence to a teacher was almost a reformatory offense in Brooklyn.
From "A Tree Grows in Brooklyn" by Betty Smith
I thought this was such an Impertinence in both Kidd and Livingston that it was time for me to look about me, and to secure Kidd.
From The Book of Buried Treasure Being a True History of the Gold, Jewels, and Plate of Pirates, Galleons, etc., which are sought for to this day by Paine, Ralph Delahaye
There is a difference between Impudence and Impertinence.
From The Knickerbocker, or New-York Monthly Magazine, May 1844 Volume 23, Number 5 by Clark, Lewis Gaylord
The same thing that makes a Man appear with Assurance at Court; qualifies him also to appear unconcern'd among Men of Sense at Will's: I mean Impertinence.
From The Present State of Wit (1711) In a Letter to a Friend in the Country by Gay, John
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.
