Word of the Day

: July 8, 2015

temerity

noun tuh-MAIR-uh-tee

What It Means

1 : unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness

2 : a rash or reckless act

temerity in Context

The line between boldness and temerity is sometimes only evident after the consequences have become clear.

"Amaro now has been relegated to saying he's sorry for his comments.… Yeah, I'd say so. You've single-handedly destroyed a baseball franchise that had a five-year stretch of baseball dominance and you have the temerity to criticize fans?" - Nick Kayal, Philly.com, May 18, 2015

Did You Know?

When it comes to flagrant boldness, temerity, audacity, hardihood, and effrontery have the cheek to get your meaning across. Of those synonyms, temerity (from the Latin temere, meaning "blindly" or "recklessly") suggests boldness arising from contempt of danger, while audacity implies a disregard of the restraints commonly imposed by convention or prudence. Hardihood implies firmness in daring and defiance, and effrontery suggests a shameless disregard of propriety and courtesy. If you're looking for a more informal term for a brash attitude, you might consider nerve, cheek, gall, or chutzpah.