audacity

noun au·dac·i·ty \ ȯ-ˈda-sə-tē \

|Updated on: 21 Jun 2018

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Examples: audacity in a Sentence

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

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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

Hoyte dropped his jaw jokingly, stunned at Cicerone's audacity to mock him.

— charlie hatch, Cincinnati.com, "Russell Cicerone's surge into the FC Cincinnati starting lineup isn't going unnoticed," 16 June 2018
So far, the market seems to be rewarding CBS’s audacity, pushing its stock up around 3 percent.

— william d. cohan, The Hive, "“The Nuclear Option”: With CBS Going to Court, Shari Redstone’s “Kabuki Theater” Falls Apart," 14 May 2018
After the police arrived, the two men were actually perp walked out the store, their only crime seemingly the audacity to violate a tony white space in Philly’s Rittenhouse Square neighborhood.

— angela helm, The Root, "Philly Police Chief Copsplains Why 2 Black Men Were Cuffed in Starbucks Viral Video Incident," 14 Apr. 2018
But someone had the audacity to publicly insult these delicate pastry circles on Twitter and now, the internet is in an all-out war.

— kelsey stiegman, Seventeen, "There's a Raging Twitter War Happening Because Someone Insulted These Sugar Cookies," 23 Oct. 2017
Nina stood out to Stern, both because of her sheer audacity and because the Michigan state archives happened to have kept detailed records of her case.

— kim kelly, The New Republic, "A Forgotten War on Women," 22 May 2018
Yet Kaepernick, who had the audacity to protest during the national anthem against the killings of unarmed black men, women and children by police, is still unemployed.

— stephen a. crockett jr., The Root, "Colin Kaepernick’s Collusion Case Just Proved NFL Teams Believed He Was Good Enough to Start, so Why Doesn’t He Have a Job?," 21 May 2018
Evoking racial terrorism and murder for personal gain/blame is stratospheric in [it] audacity and ignorance.

— natasha bach, Fortune, "Kanye West Suggested Slavery Was 'a Choice.' Critics Are Decrying It as Self-Promotion Gone Way Too Far," 2 May 2018
Today, more than three decades later, the 49-year-old Goulian still blends that personal audacity and sublime skill set in the cockpit.

— brion o’connor, BostonGlobe.com, "He began flying at 15. Now he’s the daredevil above," 27 Apr. 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

in the meaning defined at sense 1

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.