Definitions
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
- adj. Presumptuous and insulting in manner or speech; arrogant.
- adj. Audaciously rude or disrespectful; impertinent.
Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- Unwonted; unusual; uncommon.
- Showing haughty disregard of others; overbearing; contemptuously impertinent.
- Proceeding from insolence; insulting; supercilious: as, insolent words or behavior.
- Producing the effect of insolence; excessive; unbearable.
- Unfrequented; lonely.
- Synonyms and Insolent, Insulting; abusive, impudent, contemptuous. Insolent is now chiefly used of language that is intentionally and grossly rude, defiant, or rebellious. Where it applies to conduct, the conduct includes language as the most offensive thing. Insulting is freely applicable to either words or deeds that are intended to lower a person's self-respect: as, an insulting gesture. Insolent generally implies pride, but insulting does not. A man may be insolent or insulting to his superior, his inferior, or his equal. See arrogance and affront, n.
Wiktionary
GNU Webster's 1913
- adj. obsolete Deviating from that which is customary; novel; strange; unusual.
- adj. Haughty and contemptuous or brutal in behavior or language; overbearing; domineering; grossly rude or disrespectful; saucy.
- adj. Proceeding from or characterized by insolence; insulting.
WordNet 3.0
- adj. marked by casual disrespect
- adj. unrestrained by convention or propriety
Etymologies
- From Middle English, from Old French, from Latin insolens ("unaccustomed, unwanted, unusual, immoderate, excessive, arrogant, insolent"), from in- ("priv.") + solens, present participle of solere ("to be accustomed, to be wont"). (Wiktionary)
- Middle English, from Latin īnsolēns, īnsolent-, immoderate, arrogant : in-, not; see in-1 + solēns, present participle of solēre, to be accustomed. (American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition)
Examples
“She called her insolent, and assurance; and said, Begone, bold woman as thou art! — but come hither.”
“I wonder if you know how insolent is your tone, Belmanoir?" asked Fortescue steadily.”
“There was a certain insolent quality in her beauty, as if it flaunted itself somewhat too defiantly in the beholder's eye.”
“He had a manner of adoring the handsome, insolent queen of his affections (I will explain in a moment why I call her insolent); indeed, he looked up to her literally as well as sentimentally; for she was the least bit the taller of the two.”
“After this they conversed in a whisper too low for me to hear, but I could distinguish the word insolent as if meant to me; and finding I could have no chance of influencing his mind at this time, I retired to my chamber, waiting for the summons of the breakfast-bell, and have written thus far.”
“-- She called her insolent, and assurance; and said, Begone, bold woman as thou art!”
“Some think this psalm was penned upon occasion of some great distress and trouble that the church of God was in, when the enemies were in insolent and threatening, in which case the church does not so much pour out her complaint to God as place her confidence in God, and triumph in doing so; and with such a holy triumph we ought to sing this psalm.”
Commentary on the Whole Bible Volume III (Job to Song of Solomon)
“They seized on these emperors of the senate, for such they called them with malicious contempt, stripped them of their garments, and dragged them in insolent triumph through the streets of Rome, with the design of inflicting a slow and cruel death on these unfortunate princes.”
“No more, ever, of that strange suspicion -- 'insolent' -- oh, what a word!”
The Letters of Robert Browning and Elizabeth Barrett Barrett, Vol. 1 (of 2) 1845-1846
“He was not exactly free and easy, but somehow naturally insolent, which is anyway less offensive than an insolence practised before the looking-glass.”
Lists
These user-created lists contain the word ‘insolent’.
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3/4 year Vocab List
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, awe, buffoon, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron and 96 more...
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3/4 year Vocab List
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, awe, buffoon, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron and 96 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 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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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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(1st_wk_150)-Dec_5_2012
voracious, indiscriminate, eminent, steeped, replete, abound, technology, prognosticate, automaton, matron, paradox, realm and 297 more...
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501
Classic
aberration, abstruse, anomaly, assiduous, august, banal, boisterous, dulcet, epitome, impudent, insolent, mellifluous and 401 more...
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LIT - Odyssey - key words and phrases
Key words of the Odyssey by Homer in English including all those famous repeating epitethons like
"bright-eyed Athene"
"wine-dark sea"
"rosy-fingered dawn"
"long suf...Odysseus, sea, Athene, goddess, land, Achaean, wind, wave, Ithaca, lead, Poseidon, mortal and 732 more...
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If You Can't Say Anything Nice
Negative attributes or actions.
biased, cantankerous, caustic, contumacious, dilatory, disdain, duplicitous, fastidious, fractious, glower, haughty, imperious and 22 more...
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just neat
insolent, redolent, clammy, chunder, berate, vainqueur, neotony, milquetoast, semprini, twaddle, plethora, enteron and 29 more...
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WF - daffynitions
A daffynition (derived from daffy and definition) is a pun format involving the reinterpretation of an existing word, on the basis that it sounds like another word (or group of words).
Sourc...apéritif, avoidable, buccaneer, dandelion, decadent, devastation, dilate, fortunate, impolite, indistinct, information, innuendoes and 10 more...
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antidiluvian
antediluvian, mellifluous, cacophony, pauciloquent, insolent, saccharine, warrant, ostensible, virulent, cloy, spall
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SAT Master Vocab List
Words I have come across that I don't know the meaning of!
rumination, contrition, extemporize, effusion, exult, vexed, sumptuous, punitive, brethren, harridan, macabre, acrid and 123 more...
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Reading Vocab
ulterior, warrant, syllogism, precious, impiety, maroon, aigrette, batiste, topsy-turvy ago, midnight crush, cantankerous, slovenly and 180 more...
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Word Up
piquancy, piquant, vapid, mendacious, impassive, austere, austerity, periphery, hiatus, brandish, anorexia, parody and 32 more...
Tweets
Looking for tweets for insolent.
leopardann adjective: Presumptuous & Insulting in manner or speech, Arrogant/Arrogance, Rude, Disrespectful, Audaciously Rude or Disrespectful, Impertinent, Disregard toward Others, Insulting, Contemptuous, Defiant, Rebellious, & Words or Deeds intended to lower another person's Self-Confidence, Self-Respect &/or Self-Esteem. Jan 12, 2010