In 1511, leaders in Mecca believed coffee stimulated radical thinking and outlawed the drink. In 1524, the leaders overturned that order, and people could drink coffee again.
INSOLENT
audacious, barefaced, bodacious, bald-faced, brassy, brazen, brazen-faced, insolent
(adjective) 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; “bald-faced lies”; “brazen arrogance”; “the modern world with its quick material successes and insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress”- Bertrand Russell
impudent, insolent, snotty-nosed, flip
(adjective) marked by casual disrespect; “a flip answer to serious question”; “the student was kept in for impudent behavior”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Adjective
insolent (comparative more insolent, superlative most insolent)
Insulting in manner or words.
Synonyms: arrogant, bold, cocky, impudent
Rude.
Synonyms: disrespectful, impertinent, insubordinate, offensive
Synonyms
• See also cheeky
• See also arrogant
Noun
insolent (plural insolents)
A person who is insolent.
Source: Wiktionary
In"so*lent, a. Etym: [F. insolent, L. insolens, -entis, pref. in- not + solens accustomed, p. pr. of solere to be accustomed.]
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 forth with make a jest at it. Petti If any should accuse me of being new or insolent. Milton.
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." 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.
3. 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.
– 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.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition
Recent Word Finds
Word of the Day
4 April 2025
GUILLOTINE
(verb) kill by cutting the head off with a guillotine; “The French guillotined many Vietnamese while they occupied the country”
Coffee Trivia
