Insolens

Part of speech: adjective

Definitions

1. Characterized by a bold and unrestrained attitude that often results in rudeness or disrespect
2. displaying an arrogant audacity that challenges social norms
3. embodying an impudent or impertinent behavior that disregards conventional decorum

Etymology: The Latin adjective "insolens" was built from "in-", meaning "not", and "solens", the present participle of "solere", "to be accustomed". So its literal sense was "unaccustomed", and a person who was insolent was simply someone who had not learned the usual manners. Over Roman times the sense drifted from strangeness toward arrogance, the attitude of someone who acted above their station or ignored the customs that bound others. English took the word from Latin, with its modern sense of rude, haughty defiance firmly established by the time it arrived. It is a Latin formation, and it reached English in the late Middle Ages, as the surviving records show a sense of arrogant rudeness already in place. The word's core is still the same idea: behaving outside the accepted norms toward those who expect deference.

Synonyms: insolent, impertinent, impudent, rude, disrespectful

Antonyms: respectful, polite, courteous, humble