cheek ‧ y /ˈtʃiːki/ BrE AmE adjective British English
rude or disrespectful, sometimes in a way that is amusing
cheeky devil/monkey etc
You did that on purpose, you cheeky little devil!
Now don’t be cheeky to your elders, young woman.
a chubby five-year-old with a cheeky grin
—cheekily adverb :
He grinned cheekily.
—cheekiness noun [uncountable]
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THESAURUS
▪ rude not following the rules of good social behaviour or treating other people with a lack of respect:
It’s rude to interrupt.
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He’s the rudest man I’ve ever met.
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rude remarks about her stomach
▪ impolite/not polite not following the rules of good social behaviour. Impolite sounds rather formal:
It is impolite to stare.
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It’s not polite to talk with your mouth full of food.
▪ cheeky British English , smart/sassy American English behaving in a way that is a little rude, especially when this is amusing or annoying – used especially about children:
a cheeky grin
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Let go, you cheeky monkey (=cheeky child) !
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Don’t get smart with me!
▪ tactless saying things that are likely to upset or embarrass someone, without intending to:
a tactless remark
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How could you be so tactless?
▪ offensive speaking or behaving in a way that is likely to upset or offend someone:
His remarks are offensive to African-Americans.
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offensive language
▪ insulting speaking or behaving in a way that is very rude and offensive to someone:
comments that are insulting to women
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The article was full of insulting language.
▪ discourteous /dɪsˈkɜːtiəs $ -ɜːr-/ formal rather rude. Discourteous sounds very formal and is often used when talking about being careful not to upset someone’s feelings:
He did not wish to appear discourteous towards his host.
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It would seem discourteous to refuse her offer.
▪ ill-mannered ( also bad-mannered ) especially written behaving in a rude way, especially because you have never been taught how to behave politely:
Ill-mannered movie-goers talked throughout the entire picture.
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It was very bad-mannered.
▪ disrespectful not showing the proper respect for someone or something:
I felt her comments were disrespectful to all the people who have worked so hard on this project.
▪ impertinent formal not showing a proper respect for someone, especially by asking or talking about subjects that you do not have a right to know about:
an impertinent question about his private life
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an impertinent young man
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Would it be impertinent to ask how old you are?
▪ insolent formal behaving in a way that is deliberately very rude to someone in authority:
The girl’s only response was an insolent stare.
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Don’t be so insolent!
▪ impudent formal rude, and having no respect for people who are older or more important:
The boy gave an impudent smile.
▪ irreverent showing a lack of respect for someone or something who people are supposed to respect – used especially about comedy programmes and newspaper articles:
an irreverent look at the week’s events
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his irreverent sense of humour