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
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.
Divided by competing urges to “join in and stand out,” the dandy exaggerates style to the point of satire and social impertinence.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 15, 2026
Coach Matt Peet is normally poker-faced but laughed uproariously in the stand at the sheer impertinence and invention.
From BBC • Oct. 5, 2024
For her part, Ms. Pinkston likened the treatment Mr. Wright suffered on the job to the impertinence all restaurant servers endure, regardless of race.
From New York Times • Aug. 16, 2021
McCormack has a kind of 20th century sass, a lively impertinence you find in classic Hollywood comedians like Barbara Stanwyck, Irene Dunne and Rosalind Russell.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2020
Dorian, realizing how close he was to crossing a boundary between impertinence and rebellion—a boundary that he’d been very, very careful to maintain—mumbled his apologies.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
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.
