Impudent

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /ˈɪmpjʊdənt/

Definitions

1. Showing a rude and disrespectful lack of proper respect for authority or social norms
2. Characterized by a brazen disregard for social etiquette and authority, this term denotes an attitude that is offensively bold or presumptuous
3. Marked by bold disrespect or improper forwardness toward others or social rules

Etymology: The Latin "impudens" meant "shameless," built from "in-" (not) and "pudere," "to feel shame." Its opposite is the sense that survives in the Latin root itself: a person who feels no shame is one who lacks the modesty everyone else is expected to show. That idea of shamelessness is where the English word began, before it narrowed toward rudeness. English borrowed the word in Middle English, and at first it carried the same sense of immodesty and lack of shame. Only later did it drift toward the more specific idea of brazen disrespect toward others, the sense of someone who ignores the limits of good manners.

Synonyms: impertinent, disrespectful, insolent

Antonyms: polite, respectful, courteous