impudence
nounUS /ˈɪmpjədəns/
Etymology From Middle French impudence, from Latin impudentia.
1
The quality of being impudent, not showing due respect.
2
Impudent language, conduct or behavior.
- That the young Mr. Churchills liked—but they did not like him coming round of an evening and drinking weak whisky-and-water while he held forth on railway debentures and corporation loans. Mr. Barrett, however, by fawning and flattery, seemed to be able to make not only Mrs. Churchill but everyone else do what he desired. And if the arts of humbleness failed him, he overcame you by sheer impudence.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter II, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC:
- Synonyms
- cheek, sauciness, audacity, audaciousness, brashness, brass, brazenness, bronze, cheekiness, chutzpah, crust, disrespect, effrontery, gall, outdaciousness, immortal rind, impudence, insolence, irreverence, impertinence, pertness, rind, temerity