Crossword clues for insolent
insolent
Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English
The Collaborative International Dictionary
Insolent \In"so*lent\, a. [F. insolent, L. insolens, -entis, pref. in- not + solens accustomed, p. pr. of solere to be accustomed.]
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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 forthwith make a jest at it.
--Pettie.If any should accuse me of being new or insolent.
--Milton. -
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. -
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.
Douglas Harper's Etymology Dictionary
late 14c., "contemptuous, arrogant, haughty," from Latin insolentem (nominative insolens) "arrogant, immoderate," literally "unusual," from in- "not, opposite of" (see in- (1)) + solentem, present participle of solere "be accustomed," which possibly is related to sodalis "close companion," and to suescere "become used to." Meaning "contemptuous of rightful authority" is from 1670s. Related: Insolently.
Wiktionary
a. 1 insulting in manner or words. 2 rude. 3 cheeky.
WordNet
adj. marked by casual disrespect; "a flip answer to serious question"; "the student was kept in for impudent behavior" [syn: impudent, snotty-nosed, flip]
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; "bold-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, bold-faced, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced]
Usage examples of "insolent".
It was not enough that Theodosius had suppressed the insolent reign of Arianism, or that he had abundantly revenged the injuries which the Catholics sustained from the zeal of Constantius and Valens.
Fashioned of layered cartonnage, the mask bore her face, down to her pouting red lips, insolent dark eyes, and beaded cornrows, or rather, what her face had resembled in life, before the vizars shaved and smeared her.
In the following year, Publius and Cneius Cornelius Cossus, Numerius Fabius Ambustus, and Lucius Valerius Potitus, being military tribunes with consular power, the Veientian war was commenced on account of an insolent answer of the Veientian senate, who, when the ambassadors demanded restitution, ordered them to be told, that if they did not speedily quit the city and the territories, they should give them what Lars Tolumnius had given them.
Constantinople: they urged, with importunate clamors, the increase of tribute, or the restitution of captives and deserters: and the majesty of the empire was almost equally degraded by a base compliance, or by the false and fearful excuses with which they eluded such insolent demands.
Anittas was more machine than man, Rica Dawnstar was an insolent little wretch, Kaj Nevis was no better than a common criminal, and Haviland Tuf was just unspeakable.
The rash and insolent valor of the master of the order of Knights Templar, which had before exposed the Christians to a fatal defeat at the brook Kishon, forced the feeble king to annul the determination of a council of war, and advance to a camp in an enclosed valley among the mountains, near Hittin, without water.
With the littlest hint of a threat I would reach for the ball peen of steel to hammer-stroke the Insolent Face of the Fears, not talk of a Beautiful Hour.
I think John Macnab is perfectly sane, and probably a good fellow, though a dashed insolent one.
Freddie was dragged out by one of the menservants, and then she was paraded in front of the other girls as an example of what would happen to any girl who dared to be insolent.
And with great care and utmost precision, he pitched the insolent brat right into the biggest, muddiest patch of slush that he thought he could reach.
His insolent fingers dropped to the drawstring that held her pantalets secure at her waist.
The new propraetor Catus Decianus, who commanded in the absence of Suetonius, was holding a sort of court there, and the bearing of the Romans seemed even more arrogant and insolent than usual.
A few yards away the detective was waiting for them, a glint in his eyes, an insolent curl of smoke drifting from the pipe in his bubble helmet, and the Thingamabob poised, ready in his hand.
But is there anything in the offing for you, or have you been unforgivably insolent while standing at the end of a plank, so to speak?
His arrogant smile greeted her, but it seemed to her the insolent strength of his massive frame had weathered gaunt, haggard, eroded by some nameless and vampirish force.