impudent

adjective

im·​pu·​dent ˈim-pyə-dənt How to pronounce impudent (audio)
1
: marked by contemptuous or cocky boldness or disregard of others : insolent
2
obsolete : lacking modesty
impudently adverb

Examples of impudent in a Sentence

As in the sixties, being young then was in itself an empowerment; writing under Harding and Coolidge was impudent fun. John Updike, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 1988
Or it was he who was bruiting it about, with his princely dark head thrown back in impudent laughter, that he was going to be king. Joseph Heller, God Knows, 1984
When I refused to be the child they knew and accepted me to be, I was called impudent and my muteness sullenness. Maya Angelou, I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, 1969
The boy was punished for his impudent behavior. the guest's impudent inquiries about the cost of just about everything we had in the house
Recent Examples on the Web Many critics dismissed the movie as an ahistorical powder puff, an impudent exercise in vibes-first filmmaking. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 22 Jan. 2024 Lisa is often out of the house and in motion: roaming the aisles of a pharmacy that’s open late and where no one seems to be working; on a bus contending with impudent youths; breaking the rules at a sleep clinic; wasted and lost after a bachelorette party. Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023 Yet the controversy had the effect of typecasting Gurba as the impudent indie writer willing to torch the publishing industry to make a point about diversity. Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 28 Aug. 2023 There are no incentives for banks to play by rules when the cautious are punished with special assessments imposed on all banks to cover losses of recklessly impudent. Phillip Molnar, San Diego Union-Tribune, 24 Mar. 2023 But inquiring into the specifics of familial dynamics is impudent and prying — and a line of questioning that most people would be happy to avoid answering themselves. Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 4 Feb. 2023 This thinly coded carnality was not lost on killjoys who pulled the culture back from such impudent affronts to established order. Noel Stevens, The New York Review of Books, 21 Jan. 2023 That story centers on a young American journalist named Trish (Margaret Qualley, an impudent firecracker), who’s sweating it out in the Nicaraguan capital of Managua. Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2022 That sort of press—the impudent, intrusive, populist variety—serves as a reminder of the British monarchy’s twenty-first-century castration. Clare Malone, The New Yorker, 13 Sep. 2022

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impudent.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin impudent-, impudens, from in- + pudent-, pudens, present participle of pudēre to feel shame

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Time Traveler
The first known use of impudent was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near impudent

Cite this Entry

“Impudent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impudent. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

impudent

adjective
im·​pu·​dent ˈim-pyəd-ənt How to pronounce impudent (audio)
: showing scorn for or disregard of others : insolent, disrespectful
impudently adverb

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