1
as in disrespect
disrespectful or argumentative talk given in response to a command or request
a disciplinarian of the old school, he refused to tolerate any impertinence from his children
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in disrespectfulness
rude behavior
the impertinence of deliberately ignoring waiting customers while they finished their conversation
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in irrelevance
the quality or state of not having anything to do with the matter at hand
the impertinence of that issue renders any discussion of it a waste of our time
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of impertinence
Her highly English mix of impertinence, acerbic prose and class obsession turned the then-flailing magazine into a success.
—
Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 8 June 2024
Advertisement Gradually, though, like water dripping on a stone, Norm wore down their impertinence.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 21 June 2023
To a raging narcissist a plan is an impertinence, a Lilliputian restraint on the inspired instincts of a giant.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 21 Dec. 2022
Of course the request seemed rude to Jean—in the sense that all work was an impertinence that placed her days in service to another.
—Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for impertinence
Michael M. Grynbaum, New York Times, 8 June 2024
Advertisement Gradually, though, like water dripping on a stone, Norm wore down their impertinence.
—Kevin Sherrington, Dallas News, 21 June 2023
To a raging narcissist a plan is an impertinence, a Lilliputian restraint on the inspired instincts of a giant.
—Fintan O’Toole, The New York Review of Books, 21 Dec. 2022
Of course the request seemed rude to Jean—in the sense that all work was an impertinence that placed her days in service to another.
—Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
See All Example Sentences for impertinence
Recent Examples of Synonyms for impertinence
Noun
-
The Israel-Hamas war rattled campuses and spurred disrespect and intolerant behavior on all sides.—
James Druckman,
Mercury News,
17 Oct. 2025
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The problem isn’t that my girlfriend wouldn’t get to go, but the disrespect and dishonesty of uninviting her out of the blue and trying to cover it up as being a genuine mistake.—
Jordan Greene,
PEOPLE,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Is the endangered Chicago Bear about to stumble out of the wilderness after three decades of irrelevance?—
Parker Gabriel,
Denver Post,
17 Oct. 2025
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Once-influential leftist factions—the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and the Democratic Front for the Liberation of Palestine—have been ground down by decades of arrests, exile, funding collapse, and irrelevance.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Here Are All The Companies Cutting DEI Programs For old school ‘proper football men’ seeing such insolence on the field is simply unacceptable and when he was asked about the incident on talkSPORT ex-Liverpool striker Dean Saunders didn’t hold back.—
Zak Garner-Purkis,
Forbes,
27 Feb. 2025
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As to the kids’ responses, the more genial Olmo is not above whining, while parental demands usually provoke flat-out insolence from Ana, who breathes cigarette smoke like dragon fire.—
Sheri Linden,
The Hollywood Reporter,
17 Feb. 2025
Noun
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But yes, Miss Manners agrees that his rudeness justifies your ignoring his comment.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
10 Oct. 2025
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But Takaichi has taken the strongest stances, decrying the rudeness of foreign tourists and accusing them of abusing the famous deer in Nara.—
Arata Yamamoto,
NBC news,
3 Oct. 2025
Noun
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That said, James Cameron's epic reaches the pinnacle of disaster-movie impudence with the distasteful suggestion that the most celebrated tragedy of the 20th century occurred because a few lookouts were distracted by Kate and Leo sucking face.—
EW Staff Published,
EW.com,
3 July 2025
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But it’s got impudence and élan, and a feeling for life on the margins of English society.—
Dwight Garner,
New York Times,
20 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Impertinence.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/impertinence. Accessed 30 Oct. 2025.
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