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Synonyms

chutzpa

American  
[hoot-spuh, khoot-] / ˈhʊt spə, ˈxʊt- /
Or chutzpah,

noun

Slang.
  1. unmitigated effrontery or impudence; gall.

    He had the chutzpa to threaten to sue the people who caught him cheating.

  2. bold self-confidence; daring.

    He got his first article published through sheer chutzpa while working as a telephone operator for a news agency.


Etymology

Origin of chutzpa

First recorded in 1890–95; from Yiddish khutspa, from Aramaic ḥūṣpā

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.

See Examples For:

Hamler said he atoned for his drop because he has that short memory that cornerbacks have and the chutzpa that undrafted, overlooked players possess.

From Seattle Times Sep. 15, 2021

Forgotten, though, is the chutzpa behind them, a chutzpa that has been a gift to a sport that’s prone to vanilla-ness.

From Golf Digest Oct. 18, 2019

Who dares to get inside the very heads of strangers, who has the chutzpa to project thoughts and feelings into the minds of others, who steals their very souls?

From Time Sep. 14, 2016

Colonel Uri Yarom, an Israeli helicopter pilot, once gave a classic demonstration of chutzpa when he was dispatched to evacuate an injured sailor from an Israeli freighter in the Mediterranean.

From Time Magazine Archive

Starting three years ago, though, Bing's chutzpa began to alienate both labor and the paying customers.

From Time Magazine Archive

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