insolence

C2+ Topic:Describing People

US /ˈɪnsələns/ UK /ˈɪnsələns/ See IPA manual

noun

Meanings

1

noun
rude and disrespectful behavior or speech

The sergeant would not tolerate insolence from a recruit.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · rude and disrespectful... impertinence impudence insubordination rudeness effrontery cheek

Opposites

respect politeness deference civility

Word family

Related forms insolent solemn insolently

Etymology

From Old French insolence, from Latin insolentia ('unusualness, arrogance'), from insolens ('unaccustomed, arrogant'), from in- ('not') + solere ('to be accustomed').

in- Latin solere Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Describing People Word Formation & Derivatives

# insolence

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** ˈɪnsələns
**IPA (UK):** ˈɪnsələns

## Meanings
1. rude and disrespectful behavior or speech

## Examples
- The sergeant would not tolerate insolence from a recruit.

## Synonyms
- impertinence
- impudence
- insubordination
- rudeness
- effrontery
- cheek

## Antonyms
- respect
- politeness
- deference
- civility

## Related Forms
- insolent
- solemn
- insolently

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: in-
- Root: solere

## Etymology
From Old French insolence, from Latin insolentia ('unusualness, arrogance'), from insolens ('unaccustomed, arrogant'), from in- ('not') + solere ('to be accustomed').

## AI Etymology
insolence comes from Old French insolence, from Latin insolentia ('unusualness, arrogance'), from insolens ('unaccustomed, arrogant'), from in- ('not') + solere ('to be accustomed'). Morphologically, the prefixed shape matters: the initial element belongs to the recorded formation and helps explain the modern form's surface analysis. In present English, the noun sense is "rude and disrespectful behavior or speech", so the historical development ends in a clearly identifiable modern dictionary use. The same base also appears in related forms such as insolent, solemn, and insolently. Its semantic neighborhood includes impertinence, impudence, insubordination, and rudeness, which helps locate the modern sense without adding a separate etymological claim. The named historical forms include Latin in- and Latin solere.

## Topics
- Describing People
- Word Formation & Derivatives

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