INSOLENT • FREE-TRANSLATOR.COM • Definition of Insolent

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/ˈɪnsələnt/ Listen

adjective

Insolent adj.

1.

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." "If any should accuse me of being new or insolent."

2.

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." "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." "Can you not see? or will ye not observe... How insolent of late he is become, How proud, how peremptory?"

3.

Proceeding from or characterized by insolence; insulting; as, insolent words or behavior. "Their insolent triumph excited... indignation."

Synonyms: Overbearing; insulting; abusive; offensive; saucy; impudent; audacious; pert; impertinent; rude; reproachful; opprobrious. 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.

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Etymology of 'Insolent'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Insolent" Quotes from Famous Books

... thought he was looking very distrait; however, things went off quietly enough for some time, till on some trifling question arising concerning the rules of the game, the young man suddenly and quite gratuitously insulted me most grossly, ending his insolent conduct by throwing his cards in my face. This was more than I could put up with, so I called him out, and the next morning put a ball into his ankle, which prevented him dancing for a long time to come. He, being the best dancer in the colony, was rather severely punished; ...

— Sketches From My Life - By The Late Admiral Hobart Pasha • Hobart Pasha

... loving little foster-mother; but, from sheer ignorance and riotous good living, he gave her a good deal of pain. Some dog-mothers would have warned him about this pretty sharply; but not so the little sheep-dog. She never even growled when, after feeding till he could feed no more, the insolent grey whelp would pound and paw at her soft dugs, and tug at them with his sharp teeth in sheer wantonness, till they were a network of red scars and scratches. The most the gentle, plebeian little mother would do would be to ...

— Finn The Wolfhound • A. J. Dawson

... a very polite letter, in order that I might consent to see him; he did not present himself quite as he had written. His manner at first was so stiff, insolent, and even threatening, that I had to make him understand that I was in my own house, and that I had no need to render him an account of my life, except because of the sincere affection which I had ...

— Camille (La Dame aux Camilias) • Alexandre Dumas, fils

... must go, Miss Rowan, or we shall be late for luncheon," he drawled. The insolent tone of him was like having one's face slapped, and it didn't pass over Lyn's head by any means. I thought to myself that if he had set out to entrench himself in her good graces, he was taking the poorest of all methods to accomplish ...

— Raw Gold - A Novel • Bertrand W. Sinclair

... him a glance, insolent and piercing. Then she laughed, but neither hysterically nor mirthfully. It was the laughter of one in deadly anger. "I had believed you to be a man of some reason, Mr. Worth. Do you suppose, even had I entertained some ...

— The Lure of the Mask • Harold MacGrath

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