insolent
adjective /ˈɪnsələnt/
/ˈɪnsələnt/
- extremely rude and showing a lack of respect
- an insolent child/smile
- Her tone grew insolent.
Synonyms ruderudeTopics Personal qualitiesc2- cheeky
- insolent
- disrespectful
- impolite
- impertinent
- discourteous
- rude having or showing a lack of respect for other people and their feelings:
- Why are you so rude to your mother?
- It’s rude to speak when you’re eating.
- cheeky (British English, informal) (especially of children) rude in a funny or an annoying way:
- You cheeky monkey!
- a cheeky grin
- insolent (rather formal) very rude, especially to somebody who is older or more important Insolent is used especially to talk about the behaviour of children towards adults.
- disrespectful (rather formal) showing a lack of respect for somebody/something:
- Some people said he had been disrespectful to the president in his last speech.
- impolite (rather formal) not behaving in a pleasant way that follows the rules of society:
- Some people think it is impolite to ask someone’s age.
- impertinent (rather formal) not showing respect for somebody who is older or more important Impertinent is often used by people such as parents and teachers when they are telling children that they are angry with them for being rude: Don’t be impertinent!
- discourteous (formal) having bad manners and not showing respect:
- He didn’t wish to appear discourteous.
- rude/cheeky/disrespectful/impolite/discourteous to somebody
- rude/impolite/impertinent to do something
Word Originlate Middle English (also in the sense ‘extravagant, going beyond acceptable limits’): from Latin insolent- ‘immoderate, unaccustomed, arrogant’, from in- ‘not’ + solent- ‘being accustomed’ (from the verb solere).