Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- n. The quality of being offensively bold.
- n. Offensively bold behavior.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- n. The character or quality of being impudent. Want of modesty; shamelessness; indelicacy.
- n. Impudent behavior; brazenness; effrontery; insolence.
- n. Synonyms Impertinence, Impudence, Effrontery, Sauciness, Pertness, Rudeness, audacity, insolence, assurance, presumption, boldness, face. Impertinence is primarily non-pertinence, conduct not pertaining or appropriate to the circumstances, and is hence a disposition to meddle with what does not pertain to one, and more specifically unmannerly conduct or speech. Impudence is unblushing impertinence manifesting itself in words, tones, gestures, looks, etc. Effrontery is extreme impudence, which is not abashed at rebuke, but shows unconcern for the opinion of others; it is audacious and brazen-faced. Sauciness is a sharp kind of impertinence, chiefly in language, and primarily from an inferior. It is, in language, essentially the same with pertness, which, however, covers all indecorous freedom of bearing toward others; pertness is forwardness inappropriate to one's years, station, or sex. Rudeness is the only one of these words seeming to refer primarily to character; in this use it implies manners or language which might be expected from lack of culture or good breeding, and includes what is said or done from a desire to be offensive or uncivil. See arrogance.
Wiktionary
- n. The quality of being impudent, not showing due respect.
- n. Impudent language, conduct or behavior.
GNU Webster's 1913
- n. The quality of being impudent; assurance, accompanied with a disregard of the presence or opinions of others; shamelessness; forwardness; lack of modesty.
WordNet 3.0
- n. the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties
- n. an impudent statement
Examples
“An old man's opinion of two youngsters is not what I call impudence,' began Louis, with an emphasis that made Jem divert his attack.”
“Epicharis, when questioned and confronted with Proculus, resolutely denied that she had ever held any such conversation with Proculus as he alledged, and feigned the utmost astonishment at what she termed the impudence of his accusation.”
“He used to brag to me always of a great acquaintance he had there, what an esteem my lady had for him, and had the vanity (not to call it impudence) to talk sometimes as if he would have had me believe he might have had her, and would not; I'll swear I blushed for him when I saw he did not.”
Letters from Dorothy Osborne to Sir William Temple (1652-54)
“With all his daring disregard of orders and established customs, with all his consummate _sang-froid_ and what some called impudence and others "cheek," every superior under whom he had ever served had sooner or later become actually fond of Sam”
“Now that they are on top, they have a particular and curious kind of impudence, which is only known among slaves.”
“The notion that any clergyman should have the 'impudence' -- (this was the word used by Mrs. Bludlip Courtenay) -- to pause in the service because people came in late, touched the very apex of absurdity.”
“465 Her impudence is intended to be that of a captive Princess.”
“His whole appearance gave one the idea of impudence; his dress was shabby.”
“Have you not always shown that blatant impudence, which is the sole strength of our orators?”
“The hiding and peeping business, the ready laugh followed by bashfulness and self-effacement, the old unalterable impudence, which is not least amidst the _prima mobilia_ of the childish mind.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘impudence’.
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GRE Barrons Wordlist
A complete Barron's Wordlist for GRE preparation. Your online flashcard replacement.
abase, abash, abate, abbreviate, abdicate, aberrant, aberration, abet, abeyance, abhor, abject, abjure and 4087 more...
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sdamle1
echt
echt, apocalypse, resurgence, forthright, logorrhea, mercurial, torrid, exorcise, obscure, intrusive, morose, vindictive and 100 more...
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Interesting words
A list of words that are odd or words that I have looked up.
concupiscence, brize, scree, scoria, forestaff, spanaemia, valetudinarianism, distasture, pyrethrum, laudanum, gentian, bicameral and 11184 more...
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2nd part
prelude, ample, escalate, prototype, accession, acquisition, archives, zealot, indict, verdict, intimidating, timid and 454 more...
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My daily Wordsheets
paramour, flail, addle, adduce, adduction, adenitis, adenocarcinoma, adhocracy, adiabatic, adipocyte, adiposity, postpone and 25 more...
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GRE
GRE words from Princeton Review guide, ETS GRE Book from 2010 (for revised test), New Yorker/NY Times articles.
sycophant, obsequious, volubility, equanimity, enervate, effrontery, impertinent, platitude, impudence, quiescent, propitiate, equivocate and 124 more...
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GRE Readings
conclusive, derivative, conviction, affected, ample, defiance, bid, conception, demean, converse, compliance, base and 133 more...
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big book gre
abase, abbess, abbey, abbot, abdicate, abdomen, abdominal, abduction, abed, aberration, abet, abeyance and 6691 more...
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gre2
aberrant, aberration, aboveboard, abrasive, abstemious, acme, admonish, affable, affluent, alacrity, allegory, alleviate and 1901 more...
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A Refined Lexicon
ambivalence, ambivalent, equivocal, equivocation, equivocate, prevaricate, prevarication, quietude, quiescent, quiescence, vanquish, pluviosity and 137 more...
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Words from Moby Dick
frigate, presumptuous, genteel, succor, hearthstone, gentry, factitious, bilious, insurgent, portent, enervate, genuflect and 303 more...
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Good Words
fenestering, cetic, immanent, quickening, archetypal, shibboleth, soma, wetware, heritable, Apotheosis, halcyon, cellar door and 482 more...
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newGRE
mostly from magoosh
imbue, verge on, nonchalant, deliberate, timorous, futile, provisional, dissect, checked, tinged, alluring, visionary and 1046 more...
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My Revised GRE Preparation List
Words from the new GRE : This list consists mostly of words from the book Magoosh-GRE-vocab-ebook, which is one of the best vocab materials available, especially if you have started preparing one ...
mulct, dupe, pittance, stipend, defray, cupidity, avarice, prodigal, profligate, affluent, insolvent, penurious and 533 more...
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Naresh_Gre
The path meanders through the vineyards
meander, labyrinth, Sinuous, gyrate, caron, awry, credo, banter, juxtaposition, argot, inexorable, foibles and 223 more...
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Vocab++
Words as I learn them.
fetid, mezzanine, hiatus, austerity, subliminal, resplendent, implacable, impugn, debase, exiguous, cirque, holster and 2538 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for impudence.
madmouth "'I do not like That Cat', she told me, 'but he is OURS and no Hamilton dog is going to come here and give him impudence in his own backyard.'"
-Rebecca Dew in Anne of Windy Poplars Jun 1, 2009