insolence

[in-suh-luhns]

noun

1. contemptuously rude or impertinent behavior or speech.

2. the quality or condition of being insolent.

Other Word Forms

• overinsolence noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of insolence¹

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English word from Latin word insolentia. See insolent, -ence

Example Sentences

“He spoke so fast that the amazing perversity of his arguments escaped undetected; what remains of them is a monument of ingenuity and insolence.”

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

"Look around you at these monstrosities of insanity, insolence, incompetence and degeneration," he declared in his opening address.

Read more on Salon

Moscow accused Pashinyan of behaviour bordering on insolence, and on Friday summoned Armenia's ambassador to protest against "hostile steps".

Read more on Reuters

That was also evident in “the insolence and indifference that you are displaying here,” the judge added, according to another local news source.

Read more on New York Times

In a league that has absorbed the competitive nastiness of Bill Laimbeer and Ron Artest and John Stockton and Charles Oakley, Green may be the first player sent home for repeated insolence.

Read more on Washington Post