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effront — insolent or impertinent behavior; shameless boldness

Part of speech: NOUN

Definition: insolent or impertinent behavior; shameless boldness

Pronunciation (IPA): /ɪˈfrʌntəri/

Example Sentences

  • She had the effrontery to complain about free food at the charity event.
  • The politician's effrontery in denying obvious facts amazed everyone.
  • He showed incredible effrontery by asking to borrow money from the person he never paid back.

effront

NOUN

[/ɪˈfrʌntəri/]

insolent or impertinent behavior; shameless boldness

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🎤Pronunciation

🇺🇸 US/ɪˈfrʌntəri/
🇬🇧 UK/ɪˈfrʌntəri/

🌳Etymology

Prefixex--
Rootfront
Suffix--ery

Origin

The word derives from French 'effronterie', which originates from Latin 'effrons' (shameless, impudent). The Latin term combines 'ex-' (out) and 'frons' (forehead, face), originally conveying the sense of 'boldly putting one's face forward', which gradually evolved to mean 'shameless' or 'impudent'.

Breakdown

ex- (out) + frons (forehead, face) = effrons (shameless, impudent). The morphological composition reflects the literal image of someone brazenly exposing or presenting their face without shame.

🎵Rhyme

boundary
foundry

🔗Collocations

have the effrontery
sheer effrontery
incredible effrontery
show effrontery
pure effrontery
outrageous effrontery

📝Examples

😄 Fun example

“She had the effrontery to complain about free food at the charity event.”

“The politician's effrontery in denying obvious facts amazed everyone.”

😄 Fun example

“He showed incredible effrontery by asking to borrow money from the person he never paid back.”

😄 Fun example

“The student's effrontery in cheating right in front of the teacher was unbelievable.”

📚Related Words

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