temerity

noun

te·​mer·​i·​ty tə-ˈmer-ə-tē How to pronounce temerity (audio)
plural temerities
1
: unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness
2
: a rash or reckless act

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When you’re feeling saucy, there’s no shortage of words in the English language you can use to describe the particular flavor of your metaphorical sauce, from audacity and effrontery to the Yiddish-derived fan favorite chutzpah. If we may be so bold, let us also suggest temerity: it comes from the Latin temere, meaning “recklessly” or “haphazardly,” and is good for suggesting boldness even in the face of danger or likely punishment. Temerity is a formal word, rarely used in casual writing or conversation, but provided you have the cheek to flout this convention, you may be thinking “what have I got to lose?”

Choose the Right Synonym for temerity

temerity, audacity, hardihood, effrontery, nerve, cheek, gall, chutzpah mean conspicuous or flagrant boldness.

temerity suggests boldness arising from rashness and contempt of danger.

had the temerity to refuse

audacity implies a disregard of restraints commonly imposed by convention or prudence.

an entrepreneur with audacity and vision

hardihood suggests firmness in daring and defiance.

admired for her hardihood

effrontery implies shameless, insolent disregard of propriety or courtesy.

outraged at his effrontery

nerve, cheek, gall, and chutzpah are informal equivalents for effrontery.

the nerve of that guy
has the cheek to call herself a singer
had the gall to demand proof
the chutzpah needed for a career in show business

Examples of temerity in a Sentence

He defeated giant corporations—the auto industry, big pharma—back when no one else was even trying to; he had the temerity to believe that fighting for safety and quality and transparency was a quintessentially American thing to do. Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2007
A wisp of a kid (six feet, 160 pounds) with the temerity to buzz pitches up and in to Barry Bonds, Hudson has a bit of Pedro in him. ESPN, 24 July 2000
… all the while you're balancing your two prevailing interests: recording her words to later use against her—because, she, too, had the temerity to be relatively famous and attractive (with a master's from Penn)—while also, more pressingly, trying to get invited back to her apartment. Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, 2000
He was punished for his temerity. she had the temerity to ask me if she could borrow some money even though she never repaid the last loan
Recent Examples on the Web In fact, of the 10 autos, just under half eschewed ICE for all-electric or hybrid power sources, and one of them even had the temerity to come second in the competition. Paul Croughton, Robb Report, 18 Feb. 2024 So when the pastor stood before the community and said that a demon had killed her — and that its work wasn’t yet done in São Miguel — Adelson was outraged by this outsider’s temerity. Bishop Sand, Washington Post, 17 Feb. 2024 There is such a prohibition on size, in fact, that people took to Twitter to celebrate the closing of Sports Illustrated in January, because the editors once had the temerity to put more fleshy models on the cover of its swimsuit issue. TIME, 2 Feb. 2024 Putin rightly perceived Navalny as a major threat and likely hated him for Navalny’s temerity to reveal to the world Putin’s immense corruption and his personal secrets (about his mistresses, for example). Stuart Anderson, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2024 At every grill along the road, there was pork along with beef, chicken, and lamb: defying rabbinic law seemed another sign of such Israelis’ wondrous temerity. Jordan Castro, Harper's Magazine, 9 Jan. 2024 Regulators are increasingly alive to the fact that Big Tech deliberately designs its products to impose high costs on users who have the temerity to prefer their competitors. Cory Doctorow, WIRED, 17 Jan. 2024 One of these days the guy with a mustache will begin to rage against those who’ve had the temerity to lash out at him with a sabre and slash him like a Tudor doublet. Paul Muldoon, The New Yorker, 25 Dec. 2023 No one in recent times has had the temerity or skill to save match points against the ironman of tennis. Tim Ellis, Forbes, 28 Nov. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'temerity.' 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 temeryte, borrowed from Latin temeritāt- temeritās, from temere "blindly, recklessly, haphazardly" + -itāt- -itās -ity; temere going back to adverbialized locative singular of a noun *temes- "darkness," going back to Indo-European *temH-es-, whence also Sanskrit tamas- "darkness, gloom," Avestan tǝmah-, and, from the base *temH-, Lithuanian témsta, témti "to become dark," tamsà "darkness," tim͂sras "dark red (of a horse), sorrel," Old Church Slavic tĭma "darkness," tĭmĭnŭ "dark, gloomy," and from a *-ro- adjectival derivative Sanskrit tamra- "darkening, oppressive," Germanic *þemra- "darkness," whence Old High German demar "dusk, twilight"

Note: See also tenebrae.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of temerity was in the 15th century

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Dictionary Entries Near temerity

Cite this Entry

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

Kids Definition

temerity

noun
te·​mer·​i·​ty tə-ˈmer-ət-ē How to pronounce temerity (audio)
: the quality or state of being recklessly or foolishly bold

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