im ‧ pu ‧ dent /ˈɪmpjəd ə nt, ˈɪmpjʊd ə nt/ BrE AmE adjective formal or old-fashioned
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: pudere 'to feel shame' ]
rude and showing no respect to other people SYN cheeky
—impudence noun [uncountable] :
He stared at me with a mixture of impudence and hostility.
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ rude not following the rules of good social behaviour or treating other people with a lack of respect:
It’s rude to interrupt.
|
He’s the rudest man I’ve ever met.
|
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.
|
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
|
Let go, you cheeky monkey (=cheeky child) !
|
Don’t get smart with me!
▪ tactless saying things that are likely to upset or embarrass someone, without intending to:
a tactless remark
|
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.
|
offensive language
▪ insulting speaking or behaving in a way that is very rude and offensive to someone:
comments that are insulting to women
|
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.
|
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.
|
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
|
an impertinent young man
|
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.
|
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
|
his irreverent sense of humour