sass C2+ Topic:Communication US /sæs/ UK /sæs/ See IPA manual Minimal pairs Sounds like sash /s/ vs /ʃ/ Meanings 1 noun impudent or cheeky talk; to speak impertinently to someone The child gave her teacher a bit of sass and was sent to the corner. Thesaurus Synonyms 1 noun · impudent or cheeky talk; to... impudencecheekbacktalkinsolencelipsauciness ↔ Opposites deferencerespectpoliteness Word family Derived forms sassysasser Related forms sassysaucesaucy Etymology AI details An American English variant of sauce in its figurative sense 'impertinence', recorded from the early 19th century; sauce derives from Latin salsus ('salted'). salsus Latin sal Latin View etymology graph -> Topics Communication External links Cambridge Dictionary Wiktionary Google Images # sass **Type:** Word **Level:** C2+ **Part of speech:** noun **IPA (US):** /sæs/ **IPA (UK):** /sæs/ ## Meanings 1. impudent or cheeky talk; to speak impertinently to someone ## Examples - The child gave her teacher a bit of sass and was sent to the corner. ## Synonyms - impudence - cheek - backtalk - insolence - lip - sauciness ## Antonyms - deference - respect - politeness ## Derived Forms - sassy - sasser ## Related Forms - sassy - sauce - saucy ## Roots and Affixes - Root: salsus - Root: sal ## Etymology An American English variant of sauce in its figurative sense 'impertinence', recorded from the early 19th century; sauce derives from Latin salsus ('salted'). ## AI Etymology Sass is from an American English variant of sauce in its figurative sense 'impertinence', recorded from the early 19th century; sauce derives from Latin salsus ('salted'). The historical chain includes Latin salsus and Latin sal. Older glosses in the chain include "impertinence" and "salted", which help explain the semantic range of the modern word. Morphologically, sass is best read as borrowing, yielding an English noun and verb shaped by both form history and later usage. In current English it functions as a noun and verb, with the sense "impudent or cheeky talk; to speak impertinently to someone". English derivatives include sassy and sasser; related forms include sassy, sauce, and saucy. The result is an English noun and verb whose etymology preserves the older forms while supporting the word's specialized modern meaning. ## Topics - Communication markdown