impudence
Americannoun
-
the quality or state of being impudent; effrontery; insolence.
- Synonyms:
- boldness, lip, face, brazenness, brass, rudeness, impertinence, gall, nerve, pertness, sauce, presumption
- Antonyms:
- courtesy
-
impudent conduct or language.
-
Obsolete. lack of modesty; shamelessness.
noun
-
the quality of being impudent
-
an impudent act or statement
Etymology
Origin of impudence
1350–1400; Middle English < Latin impudentia shamelessness. See impudent, -ence
Explanation
When you show impudence, you lack shame about your rude behavior. Examples of impudence? Not tipping the waiter, sticking your tongue out, tripping your grandmother — you get the picture. The noun impudence is derived from the Latin impudentia, "shamelessness." Being rude is a main trait of impudence; another is doing something you're not supposed to do — usually with an attitude that shows you don't care. When you are acting with impudence, you are usually overstepping your boundaries — like a kid who challenges his parents and can't accept "Because I said so!" as a reason for discipline.
Vocabulary lists containing impudence
Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
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Fever 1793
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The Lightning Thief
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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.
Photograph: Jon Super/AP Dignity and Impudence they were, two wise old dogs and the whippersnapper.
From The Guardian • Mar. 29, 2010
Impudence and dignity are attributed to them by some foreign critics.
From Time Magazine Archive
His Dignity and Impudence is a coyly saccharine affair showing a drooping bloodhound trying to be oblivious to a cocky terrier sharing his kennel.
From Time Magazine Archive
Oh thou Heav'nly Charmer! was there such an Impudence in Impotence; if the old Dotard has liv'd past his Reason, he must be taught it; yes, it shall dazle in his Eyes.
From The Female Wits by Anonymous
Impudence gets the better of modesty; and this exploit was no sooner performed, than the wren removed every part of the materials to her own box, with the most admirable dexterity.
From Illustrative Anecdotes of the Animal Kingdom by Goodrich, Samuel G. (Samuel Griswold)
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.
