effrontery
Americannoun
plural
effronteries-
shameless or impudent boldness; barefaced audacity.
She had the effrontery to ask for two free samples.
- Synonyms:
- cheek, impudence, impertinence
-
an act or instance of this.
noun
Etymology
Origin of effrontery
1705–15; < French effronterie, equivalent to Old French esfront shameless ( es- ex- 1 + front brow; see front) + -erie -ery
Explanation
If you rudely behave as if you have a right to something that you have no right to, you're committing effrontery. When a couple stroll into a crowded restaurant, demand the best table, and threaten the staff unless they're seated right away, that's effrontery. People have been guilty of outrageously self-centered behavior at least since 1715, when effrontery was coined. Tracing to the French word effronté, meaning "shameless," the word effrontery is also connected to brazen, which means "of brass," and describes someone so accustomed to effrontery that he's hardened to it and has no concern for the harm done to others.
Vocabulary lists containing effrontery
The Crucible
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The Importance of Being Earnest
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Ethan Frome
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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.
Effrontery and scandal have propelled his outsider candidacy.
From New York Times • Dec. 4, 2021
Pardon Our Effrontery is the least it should entreat for, and there would be nothing intemperate about Pardon Our Existence.
From Time Magazine Archive
"Effrontery," shouted members of the Conservative M.P.s Foreign Policy Committee.
From Time Magazine Archive
Effrontery had always been the object of his secret admiration.
From Toilers of the Sea by Hugo, Victor
Effrontery, properly managed, is one of the most valuable of all qualities.
From Astounding Stories of Super-Science, May, 1930 by Bates, Harry
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.
