Adjacent Words

Insolent definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

IN'SOLENT, a. Proud and haughty, with contempt of others; overbearing; domineering in power; as an insolent master.
1. Proceeding from insolence; haughty and contemptuous; as insolent words or behavior.
2. Unaccustomed; the primary sense. [Not used.]

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: marked by casual disrespect; "a flip answer to serious question"; "the student was kept in for impudent behavior" [syn: impudent, insolent, snotty-nosed, flip]
2: unrestrained by convention or propriety; "an audacious trick to pull"; "a barefaced hypocrite"; "the most bodacious display of tourism this side of Anaheim"- Los Angeles Times; "bald-faced lies"; "brazen arrogance"; "the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress"- Bertrand Russell [syn: audacious, barefaced, bodacious, bald-faced, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, insolent]

Merriam Webster's

adjective Etymology: Middle English, from Latin insolent-, insolens unaccustomed, overbearing, from in- + solens, present participle of sol?re to be accustomed; perhaps akin to Latin sodalis comrade — more at sib Date: 14th century 1. insultingly contemptuous in speech or conduct ; overbearing 2. exhibiting boldness or effrontery ; impudent Synonyms: see proud • insolent noun • insolently adverb

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. offensively contemptuous or arrogant; insulting. Derivatives: insolence n. insolently adv. Etymology: ME, = 'arrogant', f. L insolens (as IN-(1), solens pres. part. of solere be accustomed)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Insolent In"so*lent, a. [F. insolent, L. insolens, -entis, pref. in- not + solens accustomed, p. pr. of solere to be accustomed.] 1. Deviating from that which is customary; novel; strange; unusual. [Obs.] If one chance to derive any word from the Latin which is insolent to their ears . . . they forth with make a jest at it. --Pettie. If any should accuse me of being new or insolent. --Milton. 2. Haughty and contemptuous or brutal in behavior or language; overbearing; domineering; grossly rude or disrespectful; saucy; as, an insolent master; an insolent servant. ``A paltry, insolent fellow.'' --Shak. Insolent is he that despiseth in his judgment all other folks as in regard of his value, of his cunning, of his speaking, and of his bearing. --Chaucer. Can you not see? or will ye not observe . . . How insolent of late he is become, How proud, how peremptory? --Shak. 3. Proceeding from or characterized by insolence; insulting; as, insolent words or behavior. Their insolent triumph excited . . . indignation. --Macaulay. Syn: Overbearing; insulting; abusive; offensive; saucy; impudent; audacious; pert; impertinent; rude; reproachful; opprobrious. Usage: Insolent, Insulting. Insolent, in its primitive sense, simply denoted unusual; and to act insolently was to act in violation of the established rules of social intercourse. He who did this was insolent; and thus the word became one of the most offensive in our language, indicating gross disregard for the feelings of others. Insulting denotes a personal attack, either in words or actions, indicative either of scorn or triumph. Compare Impertinent, Affront, Impudence.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

If you say that someone is being insolent, you mean they are being rude to someone they ought to be respectful to. ...her insolent stare... ADJ • insolence Pupils could be excluded from school for insolence.

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Rude, abusive, overbearing, domineering, contemptuous, insulting, contumelious. 2. Impertinent, impudent, saucy, pert, malapert. 3. Insultingly disobedient or insubordinate, impudently or outrageously disrespectful (to superiors), froward, contumacious.

Moby Thesaurus

abusive, arrogant, assuming, atrocious, audacious, aweless, backhand, backhanded, bold, brash, brassy, brazen, brazenfaced, bumptious, callous, calumnious, cavalier, challenging, cheeky, cocky, cold, contemptuous, contumelious, cool, crude, daring, defiant, defying, degrading, derisive, dictatorial, discourteous, disdainful, disparaging, disregardful, disrespectful, familiar, forward, fresh, greatly daring, hard, hardened, haughty, high-and-mighty, hubristic, humiliating, impenitent, imperative, impertinent, impolite, improvident, imprudent, impudent, inaffable, incautious, indiscreet, injudicious, insubordinate, insulting, irreverent, left-handed, lofty, magisterial, obdurate, obtrusive, offensive, outrageous, overbearing, overbold, overcareless, overconfident, overpresumptuous, oversure, overweening, peremptory, pert, presuming, presumptuous, procacious, pushy, rash, regardless of consequences, ridiculing, rude, saucy, scurrile, scurrilous, self-appointed, self-elect, supercilious, superior, temerarious, unabject, unaccommodating, unchary, uncivil, uncomplaisant, uncontrite, uncourteous, uncourtly, ungallant, ungracious, unmelted, unpolite, unrepentant, unrepenting, unsoftened, unspeakable, untouched, unwary, uppish, uppity, wise, would-be