insolent
Americanadjective
noun
adjective
Related Words
See impertinent.
Other Word Forms
- insolence noun
- insolently adverb
- overinsolent adjective
- overinsolently adverb
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.
All would be well for the heroic striver but for the insolent judgments of “editors, curators, connoisseurs, critics, bosses, talent agents, reviewers, etc.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 9, 2026
Fans were momentarily disappointed, but nothing could detract from the insolent, messy glory of tracks like Club Classics or Sympathy Is A Knife.
From BBC • Jun. 28, 2025
“These are absolutely unfounded, insolent accusations about the head of the Russian state,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
From Seattle Times • Feb. 20, 2024
And El Pachuco, in his high-waisted “drapes” and angled hat, who narrates “Zoot Suit” while occasionally stepping outside the Brechtian Fourth Wall to freeze-fame the action or utter caustic commentary, is its righteously insolent heart.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 2, 2023
He worked during the day in an offhand, insolent manner, but there was a strangeness to his eyes whenever you spoke to him.
From "Dragonwings" by Laurence Yep
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.
