impudent
adjective
im·pu·dent
ˈim-pyə-dənt 
1
formal
: marked by contemptuous or cocky disrespect of others : very rude : insolent
Lisa is often out of the house and in motion … contending with impudent youths …—
Robert Lloyd
Robert LloydWhen I refused to be the child they knew and accepted me to be, I was called impudent and my muteness sullenness.—Maya Angelou
Maya Angelou2
obsolete
: lacking modesty
impudently
adverb
You have a gross, horrid piece of corruption before you—impudently confessed, and more impudently defended.
—Edmund Burke
Edmund Burke
Examples of impudent in a Sentence
As in the sixties, being young then was in itself an empowerment; writing under Harding and Coolidge was impudent fun.
—John Updike, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 1988
Or it was he who was bruiting it about, with his princely dark head thrown back in impudent laughter, that he was going to be king.
—Joseph Heller, God Knows, 1984
The boy was punished for his impudent behavior.
the guest's impudent inquiries about the cost of just about everything we had in the house
John Updike, New Yorker, 25 Apr. 1988
Or it was he who was bruiting it about, with his princely dark head thrown back in impudent laughter, that he was going to be king.
—Joseph Heller, God Knows, 1984
The boy was punished for his impudent behavior.
the guest's impudent inquiries about the cost of just about everything we had in the house
Recent Examples on the Web
Gemma reluctantly agrees to rebuild her impudent robot in a new body, and the sequel ends with an explosive showdown between Amelia and M3GAN, who nearly dies in a noble attempt to save Gemma and her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw).
—Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 29 June 2025
Fortunately, Snow White’s newfound enlightenment does not deny her the possibility of romance, although princes are now strictly off-limits; her love interest here is a fetchingly impudent bandit, Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who is leading a scrappy rebellion against the Evil Queen.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
One chord appears to speak to the other, sounding almost impudent in their simplicity, equal parts ecstatic and heartbreakingly melancholic.
—Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025
More specifically, the impudent Skull Kid steals the Ocarina of Time and turns Link into a Deku Scrub, those antagonistic tree cannons first introduced in Ocarina.
—Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Lisa is often out of the house and in motion: roaming the aisles of a pharmacy that’s open late and where no one seems to be working; on a bus contending with impudent youths; breaking the rules at a sleep clinic; wasted and lost after a bachelorette party.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023
In short, Moscow sees Montenegro as both strategically valuable and an impudent upstart that has thumbed its nose at the Russian bear while genuflecting before NATO and Washington.
—Edward P. Joseph, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2016
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Patrick Ryan, USA Today, 29 June 2025
Fortunately, Snow White’s newfound enlightenment does not deny her the possibility of romance, although princes are now strictly off-limits; her love interest here is a fetchingly impudent bandit, Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who is leading a scrappy rebellion against the Evil Queen.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2025
One chord appears to speak to the other, sounding almost impudent in their simplicity, equal parts ecstatic and heartbreakingly melancholic.
—Sam Davies, Rolling Stone, 10 Mar. 2025
More specifically, the impudent Skull Kid steals the Ocarina of Time and turns Link into a Deku Scrub, those antagonistic tree cannons first introduced in Ocarina.
—Ashley Bardhan, Vulture, 27 Sep. 2024
Lisa is often out of the house and in motion: roaming the aisles of a pharmacy that’s open late and where no one seems to be working; on a bus contending with impudent youths; breaking the rules at a sleep clinic; wasted and lost after a bachelorette party.
—Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 22 Sep. 2023
In short, Moscow sees Montenegro as both strategically valuable and an impudent upstart that has thumbed its nose at the Russian bear while genuflecting before NATO and Washington.
—Edward P. Joseph, Foreign Affairs, 22 Dec. 2016
Cite this Entry
“Impudent.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impudent. Accessed 14 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
impudent
adjective
im·pu·dent
ˈim-pyəd-ənt
: showing scorn for or disregard of others : insolent, disrespectful
impudently
adverb
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