as in impudent
displaying or marked by rude boldness
an appallingly insolent reply to a reasonable request
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in nuisance
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insolent
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
Dickinson’s Samuel is an intriguing, insolent magnet from the start.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for insolent
Adjective
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
Dickinson’s Samuel is an intriguing, insolent magnet from the start.
—Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune, 24 Dec. 2024
See All Example Sentences for insolent
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insolent
Adjective
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Gemma reluctantly agrees to rebuild her impudent robot in a new body, and the sequel ends with an explosive showdown between Amelia and M3GAN, who nearly dies in a noble attempt to save Gemma and her niece, Cady (Violet McGraw).—
Patrick Ryan,
USA Today,
29 June 2025
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Fortunately, Snow White’s newfound enlightenment does not deny her the possibility of romance, although princes are now strictly off-limits; her love interest here is a fetchingly impudent bandit, Jonathan (Andrew Burnap), who is leading a scrappy rebellion against the Evil Queen.—
Justin Chang,
The New Yorker,
22 Mar. 2025
Noun
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Broadway was also found to have violated probation on three occasions, stemming from his conviction on a Level 6 felony of maintaining a common nuisance and drug possession from his arrest in June 2024.—
Jim Woods,
Chicago Tribune,
27 Feb. 2026
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Excessively loud vehicles has become a common nuisance across Austin, but a group of West Austin neighbors have pushed the city to take action.—
Austin Sanders,
Austin American Statesman,
26 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Streaming-wise, Paramount now has the ability to combine Paramount+, HBO Max, and Pluto TV.—
Brady Knox,
The Washington Examiner,
28 Feb. 2026
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After last fall went so badly off the rails, the wiser play for the Buffs surely would’ve been to wait until this year to re-negotiate — to see what a post-Shedeur/post-Hunter roster looked like.—
Sean Keeler,
Denver Post,
28 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Insulting this imbecile became the most rewarding pastime on earth.—
Rosa Lyster,
Harpers Magazine,
30 Dec. 2025
-
Evil is insolent and strong; beauty enchanting but rare; goodness very apt to be weak; folly very apt to be defiant; wickedness to carry the day; imbeciles to be in great places, people of sense in small, and mankind generally unhappy.—
Sam Sacks,
WSJ,
18 Nov. 2016
Adjective
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The head of France’s Louvre Museum has resigned four months after a brazen daylight heist, in which thieves took jewels worth approximately $102 million.—
Marissa Martinez,
NBC news,
25 Feb. 2026
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But many Mexicans remained unconvinced that the military operation would in fact weaken Oseguera’s cartel, and that the spate of brazen lawlessness was over.—
Kate Linthicum,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Feb. 2026
Noun
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No defensiveness in his voice — just the most relaxed kind of confidence, a sexy brat with zero shame.—
Rob Sheffield,
Rolling Stone,
19 Feb. 2026
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The Navy brat joined the Army in 1953, emerged as a Private First Class, and hit New York in the winter of 1955 to begin studying at Neighborhood Playhouse under Sanford Meisner.—
Fred Schruers,
IndieWire,
16 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Bassel stands at the center of the frame, looking cocky and slightly bored, with his parents seated in front of him and his siblings on either side.—
Robert F. Worth,
The Atlantic,
6 Feb. 2026
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Their roles are reversed when O’Brien’s cocky, young CEO must look to McAdams’ strategic planning and survival know-how to stay alive.—
Jordan Moreau,
Variety,
30 Jan. 2026
Adjective
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The rooms Each of the 11 rooms and two suites is individually decorated, some in bold blues and whites, to reflect the ocean beyond, with elegant colonial-style furnishings that mirror the origins of its founding English owners.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
24 Feb. 2026
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Those kinds of weapons have been used to assert, expand and maintain the cartel's control throughout the country in violent and often bold fashion.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
23 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insolent.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insolent. Accessed 2 Mar. 2026.
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