effrontery

  • 1Effrontery — Ef*front er*y, n.; pl. {Effronteries}. [F. effronterie, fr. effront[ e] shameless, fr. L. effrons, ontis, putting forth the forehead, i. e., barefaced, shameless; ex + frons the forehead. See {Front}.] Impudence or boldness in confronting or in… …

    The Collaborative International Dictionary of English

  • 2effrontery — 1715, from Fr. effronterie, from effronté shameless, from O.Fr. esfronte shameless, brazen, probably from L.L. effrontem (nom. effrons) barefaced, from L. ex out (see EX (Cf. ex )) + frontem (nom. frons) …

    Etymology dictionary

  • 3effrontery — index contumely, disrespect, temerity Burton s Legal Thesaurus. William C. Burton. 2006 …

    Law dictionary

  • 4effrontery — *temerity, audacity, hardihood, nerve, cheek, gall Analogous words: impudence, brazenness, brashness (see corresponding adjectives at SHAMELESS): impertinence, intrusiveness, officiousness (see corresponding adjectives at IMPERTINENT) …

    New Dictionary of Synonyms

  • 5effrontery — [n] nerve, boldness arrogance, assurance, audacity, backtalk, brashness, brass*, brazenness, cheek*, cheekiness, chutzpah*, crust*, disrespect, face, gall, guff, hardihood, impertinence, impudence, incivility, insolence, lip*, presumption,… …

    New thesaurus

  • 6effrontery — ► NOUN ▪ insolence or impertinence. ORIGIN French effronterie, from Latin effrons shameless, barefaced , from frons forehead …

    English terms dictionary

  • 7effrontery — [e frunt′ər ē, ifrunt′ər ē] n. [Fr effronterie < effronté, shameless, bold < L effrons, barefaced, shameless < ex , from + frons, forehead: see FRONT1] 1. unashamed boldness; impudence; audacity; presumption 2. pl. effronteries an act or …

    English World dictionary

  • 8effrontery — n. the effrontery to + inf. (he had the effrontery to demand more money) * * * [ɪ frʌnt(ə)rɪ] the effrontery to + inf. (he had the effrontery to demand more money) …

    Combinatory dictionary

  • 9effrontery — noun /ɪˈfrʌntəri,ɛˈfrʌntəri/ a) insolent and shameless audacity We even had the effrontery to suggest that he should leave the country. b) an act of insolent and shameless audacity Any refusal to salute the president shall be counted as an… …

    Wiktionary

  • 10effrontery — ef|fron|te|ry [ıˈfrʌntəri] n [U] formal [Date: 1600 1700; : French; Origin: effronterie, from Late Latin effrons shameless ] rude behaviour that shocks you because it is so confident have the effrontery to do sth ▪ She had the effrontery to ask… …

    Dictionary of contemporary English