audacity

noun au·dac·i·ty \ ȯ-ˈda-sə-tē \

Updated on: 13 Apr 2018

Definition of audacity

plural audacities

1 : the quality or state of being audacious: such as

a : intrepid boldness

knights admired for their audacity

b : bold or arrogant disregard of normal restraints

had the audacity to defy his boss

2 : an audacious act —usually used in plural

Her worst audacities did not seem to surprise him.
—Edith Wharton

See audacity defined for English-language learners

See audacity defined for kids

Examples of audacity in a Sentence

I could not believe their audacity.
He had the audacity to suggest that it was all my fault.

Recent Examples of audacity from the Web

Ponder for a second the audacity of someone like me, who generally wants to combat hate in the world and is especially outraged about Donald Trump’s hate.

— sally kohn, Glamour, "Sally Kohn: You—Yes, You—Are Guilty of Hate," 10 Apr. 2018
The Zuckerberg hearings could coalesce into a seminal turning point on our relationship with technology or become an aside in a daily political maelstrom that has numbed us with its audacity.

— jeffrey fleishman, latimes.com, "Mark Zuckerberg's testimony before Congress has the makings of riveting televised political drama," 9 Apr. 2018
Beginning in late 1984, young protesters challenged the authorities with increasing audacity.

— author: alan cowell, Anchorage Daily News, "Winnie Madikizela-Mandela, who fought apartheid with her husband, has died at 81," 2 Apr. 2018
Snotty Guys’ The audacity of the venture, coming on the heels of the Clairtone failure, suggests more than optimism was at play.

— danielle bochove, Bloomberg.com, "Peter Munk, Entrepreneur Who Founded Barrick Gold, Dies at 90," 28 Mar. 2018
Dia Dipasupil/Getty Images Like a scene from a Deadpool comic book, writer-actor-singer Donald Glover’s rare Twitter appearance to reveal a Deadpool script that no one asked for was a surprise laced with audacity and the perfect amount of pettiness.

— alex abad-santos, Vox, "Donald Glover tweeted a Deadpool script after reports he was too busy for an animated series," 28 Mar. 2018
The audacity of white privilege: This woman next to me took her shoes off and placed both feet on the table.

— Fox News, "Black man accuses United of 'racial bias,' claims airline offered white woman $1,000 voucher and not him," 15 Mar. 2018
While these guerrilla protesters number only in the dozens, Iran’s government has taken notice of their audacity.

— erin cunningham, Washington Post, "Women in Iran are pulling off their headscarves — and hoping for a ‘turning point’," 8 Mar. 2018
But Trump tends to operate on the principle that audacity will be rewarded and new scandals will always come along to crowd out old ones.

— matthew yglesias, Vox, "Donald Trump’s threat to the rule of law is much bigger than Robert Mueller," 19 Mar. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'audacity.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of audacity

Middle English audacite, from Latin audac-, audax — see audacious

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 15th century

See Words from the same year

audacity Synonyms

Synonyms

audaciousness, brashness, brass, brassiness, brazenness, cheek, cheekiness, chutzpah (also chutzpa), crust, effrontery, face, gall, nerve, nerviness, pertness, presumption, presumptuousness, sauce, sauciness, temerity;

Near Antonyms

bashfulness, diffidence, faintheartedness, hesitancy, modesty, shyness, timidity, timidness, timorousness;

civility, courteousness, courtesy, gentility, graciousness, mannerliness, manners;

discourteousness, disrespect, impertinence, impoliteness, impudence, incivility, inconsiderateness, inconsideration, insolence, rudeness, ungraciousness;

back talk, sass;

swagger, swash;

Synonym Discussion of audacity

temerity, audacity, hardihood, effrontery, nerve, cheek, gall, chutzpah mean conspicuous or flagrant boldness. temerity suggests boldness arising from rashness and contempt of danger.