Meanings
plural effronteries
- uncountableInsolent and shameless audacity.
We even had the effrontery to suggest that he should leave the country.
1 more example
Let not the Englishman in Scotland believe that the undoffed hat, the curt reply, the apparent assumption of equality, all spring from deliberate effrontery, and are wholly beyond the reach of southern influence.
1859, The Christian Remembrancer, volumes 37-38, page 250 - countableAn act of insolent and shameless audacity.
Any refusal to salute the president shall be counted as an effrontery.
1 more example
All was going as planned until the bag hit a snag and failed to surround the entire nest. This effrontery was too much. The wasps exploded off the nest at me.
2016, Justin O. Schmidt, The Sting of the Wild, Johns Hopkins University Press,, →ISBN, page 92
Synonyms & antonyms
nounaudacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Vulgar Latin*exfrontātus
- Old Frenchesfronté
- Frencheffronterie
- Englisheffrontery
From late 17th century French effronterie, from effronté (“shameless, insolent”), from Old French esfronté, from Vulgar Latin *exfrontātus. Compare Latin effrōns (“barefaced”), from the prefix ex- (“from”) + frōns (“forehead”) (English: front). By surface analysis, ef- + front + -er + -y.
More words from French, Old French, Vulgar Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian наха́лство, безочливост
- наха́лство (nahálstvo)insolent and shameless audacity
- безочливост (bezočlivost)insolent and shameless audacity
Chinese Mandarin 厚顏無恥 /厚颜无耻
- 厚顏無恥 /厚颜无耻 (hòuyánwúchǐ)insolent and shameless audacity
Dutch onbeschaamdheid
- onbeschaamdheidinsolent and shameless audacity
Finnish julkeus, röyhkeys
- julkeusinsolent and shameless audacity
- röyhkeysinsolent and shameless audacity
- hävyttömyysinsolent and shameless audacity
French effronterie
- effronterieinsolent and shameless audacity
German Dreistigkeit, Frechheit
- Dreistigkeitinsolent and shameless audacity
- Frechheitinsolent and shameless audacity
- Unverschämtheitinsolent and shameless audacity
Greek θράσος
- θράσος (thrásos)insolent and shameless audacity
Hebrew חוצפה
- חוצפה (chutzpá)insolent and shameless audacity
Hungarian arcátlanság
- arcátlanságinsolent and shameless audacity
Icelandic ósvífni, óskammfeilni
- ósvífniinsolent and shameless audacity
- óskammfeilniinsolent and shameless audacity
Irish neamhnáire
- neamhnáireinsolent and shameless audacity
Italian sfrontatezza
- sfrontatezzainsolent and shameless audacity
Japanese 厚顔無恥
- 厚顔無恥 (kōganmuchi)insolent and shameless audacity
Korean 뻔뻔스러움
- 뻔뻔스러움 (ppeonppeonseureoum)insolent and shameless audacity
Portuguese descaramento, acinte
- descaramentoinsolent and shameless audacity
- acinteinsolent and shameless audacity
- desfaçatezinsolent and shameless audacity
Romanian sfruntare, nerușinare
- sfruntareinsolent and shameless audacity
- nerușinareinsolent and shameless audacity
- insolențăinsolent and shameless audacity
Russian бессты́дство, на́глость
- бессты́дство (besstýdstvo)insolent and shameless audacity
- на́глость (náglostʹ)insolent and shameless audacity
- наха́льство (naxálʹstvo)insolent and shameless audacity
- беззасте́нчивость (bezzasténčivostʹ)insolent and shameless audacity
Spanish desfachatez, desvergüenza
- desfachatezinsolent and shameless audacity
- desvergüenzainsolent and shameless audacity
- descaroinsolent and shameless audacity
Swedish fräckhet, oförskämdhet
- fräckhetinsolent and shameless audacity
- oförskämdhetinsolent and shameless audacity
Cite this entry
effrontery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 2, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effrontery
“effrontery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effrontery. Accessed November 2, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “effrontery,” accessed November 2, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/effrontery.
Source: effrontery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.