insolent

adjective

in·​so·​lent ˈin(t)-s(ə-)lənt 

1

: rude or impolite : having or showing a lack of respect for other people

the clerk's insolent manner/attitude

an insolent disregard for the group

… the shifty slouch of their movements and the insolent way they throw their cigarette ends … around the streets.

—Jan Morris

A photographer hiding in the bushes, an insolent reporter tracking her every move.

—Jackie Collins

often : boldly disrespectful toward those in authority or of higher rank or status

His worst behavior is being insolent and arrogant with the school counselor.

—Jennifer Ouellette

2

: of such scope as to give an effect of disdainful arrogance

… the modern world, with its quick material successes and its insolent belief in the boundless possibilities of progress.

—Bertrand Russell

insolent noun

insolently adverb

Synonyms of insolent

• impudent
• wise
• brazen
• cocky
• bold
• impertinent
• defiant
• fresh
• cheeky
• sassy
• blunt
• saucy
• cocksure
• brash
• brassy
• audacious

Choose the Right Synonym for insolent

proud, arrogant, haughty, lordly, insolent, overbearing, supercilious, disdainful mean showing scorn for inferiors.

proud may suggest an assumed superiority or loftiness.

too proud to take charity

arrogant implies a claiming for oneself of more consideration or importance than is warranted.

a conceited and arrogant executive

haughty suggests a consciousness of superior birth or position.

a haughty aristocrat

lordly implies pomposity or an arrogant display of power.

a lordly condescension

insolent implies contemptuous haughtiness.

ignored by an insolent waiter

overbearing suggests a tyrannical manner or an intolerable insolence.

an overbearing supervisor

supercilious implies a cool, patronizing haughtiness.

an aloof and supercilious manner

disdainful suggests a more active and openly scornful superciliousness.

disdainful of their social inferiors

Examples of insolent in a Sentence

… the tempos were all-out fast and the tone was flat-out insolent. To some, rock-and-roll was as threatening as Communism and desegregation. —Margo Jefferson, New York Times, 26 Oct. 1994

Sweating, cursing the whole Mickey Mouse operation, they paced themselves with their own insolent complaints while the foreman cursed loudest … —Jayne Anne Phillips, Granta, Spring 1991

They could go days without food or water; they could withstand burning heat …  ; and if they were horribly cruel to their captives, they could themselves accept torture with insolent defiance. —James A. Michener, Texas, 1985

Insolent behavior will not be tolerated.

an appallingly insolent reply to a reasonable request

Recent Examples on the Web

Beautiful, not perfect; Alex can be rude, insolent, and subject to wild emotional swings and failures of decorum and logic. —Literary Hub, 14 Aug. 2025

The movie’s startling originality is in its spirit, its insolent ironies. —Richard Brody, New Yorker, 30 July 2025

One’s insolent, calling him lame and old, and the other affectedly infantile, but both are exhausting in their own way. —Keith Phipps, Vulture, 16 Apr. 2025

Parthenope is inscrutable yet expressive, insolent yet heroic, magnetic yet unattainable, loving yet selfish. —Mike Miller, EW.com, 12 Feb. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Latin insolent-, insolens unaccustomed, overbearing, from in- + solens, present participle of solēre to be accustomed; perhaps akin to Latin sodalis comrade — more at sib

First Known Use

1678, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

insolent

adjective

in·​so·​lent ˈin(t)-s(ə-)lənt 

1

: disrespectful or rude in speech or conduct

an insolent child

2

: showing boldness or rudeness

an insolent act

insolently adverb