audacity

English

Wikipedia

Etymology

From Medieval Latin audacitas, from Latin audax (“bold”), from audeō (“I am bold, I dare”).

Pronunciation

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Noun

audacity (plural audacities)

1. Insolent boldness, especially when imprudent or unconventional.

   The brash private had the audacity to criticize the general.

   Somebody never pays his loans, yet he has the audacity to ask the bank for money.

   • 1960, P. G. Wodehouse, Jeeves in the Offing, chapter XVIII:

     “Oh?” she said. “So you have decided to revise my guest list for me? You have the nerve, the – the –” I saw she needed helping out. “Audacity,” I said, throwing her the line. “The audacity to dictate to me who I shall have in my house.” It should have been “whom”, but I let it go. “You have the –” “Crust.” “– the immortal rind,” she amended, and I had to admit it was stronger, “to tell me whom” – she got it right that time – “I may entertain at Brinkley Court and who” – wrong again – “I may not.”

2. Fearlessness, intrepid daring.

Synonyms

• (insolent boldness): audaciousness, outdaciousness, temerity

Related terms

• audacious

Translations

insolent boldness

• Bulgarian: дързост (bg) (dǎrzost)
• Czech: smělost (cs) f, troufalost (cs) f
• Finnish: uhkarohkeus (fi), julkeus (fi)
• French: audace (fr) f, toupet (fr) m, culot (fr) m (familiar)
• German: Kühnheit (de) f, Verwegenheit (de) f, Frechheit (de) f
• Greek: θράσος (el) (thrásos)
• Hebrew: עזות מצח (he)

• Hungarian: vakmerőség (hu)
• Polish: śmiałość (pl) f
• Russian: сме́лость (ru) (smélost’) f, де́рзость (ru) (dérzost’) f
• Spanish: audacia (es) f
• Swedish: fräckhet (sv) c

fearless daring

• Bulgarian: смелост (bg) (smelost) f, безстрашие (bg) (bezstrašie) n
• Dutch: moed (nl) m
• French: audace (fr) f, culot (fr) m (familiar)
• German: Wagemut (de) m
• Greek: τόλμη (el) (tólmi)

• Hebrew: אומץ לב (he)
• Hungarian: rettenthetetlenség (hu), bátorság (hu), vakmerőség (hu)
• Russian: бесстрашие (ru) (besstrašije) n
• Spanish: osadía (es) f, audacia (es) f

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.

Translations to be checked

• Yiddish: chutzpah (yi)

External links

• audacity in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913
• audacity in The Century Dictionary, The Century Co., New York, 1911
• audacity at OneLook Dictionary Search