insolent
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Synonym Usage
See impertinent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of insolent
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English from Latin insolent- (stem of insolēns ) “departing from custom,” equivalent to in- in- 3 + sol- (stem of solēre “to be accustomed”) + -ent- -ent
Explanation
Someone who's insolent is either really doing her own thing, even if it goes against what everyone else is doing, or she’s mildly disrespectful. That student in your class who is constantly snubbing the teacher, snorting when he gives assignments, and rolling her eyes when he reads passages aloud from your vocabulary textbook? Insolent, definitely insolent. There might be another student who adorns her school uniform with pins and ribbons, cuts her hair shorter than the dress code allows, and rolls her socks down. This student is also insolent, in the sense that she defies the rules.
Vocabulary lists containing insolent
The SAT: Words to Capture Tone, List 3
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List 5
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The New SAT: Words to Capture Tone
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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.
Insolent schoolkids and educators with the stamina and sensitivity to reach them is a sentimental formula so familiar, it could stand a pantsing in the hallway between classes.
From Los Angeles Times • Sep. 19, 2025
"Insolent Pom insults PM" was one headline, when he called the prime minister, Harold Holt, a "disappointment".
From BBC • Nov. 9, 2022
Insolent or audacious in address; coolly impudent or presuming.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2012
Insolent, fearful, desolate and touched with the antic brilliance of madness, this Fool becomes a jagged, glittering prism for the unhinged world of “King Lear.”
From New York Times • Nov. 9, 2011
“Yes, my lord. I was bad, my lord. Insolent and...”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
