effrontery
NounWordNet 3.0
Noun (1)
- audacious (even arrogant) behavior that you have no right to“he despised them for their presumptuousness”Synonyms: presumptionpresumptuousnessassumption
Webster's Dictionary (GCIDE)
Effrontery \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 transgressing the bounds of duty or decorum; insulting presumptuousness; shameless boldness; barefaced assurance. [1913 Webster]
Corruption lost nothing of its effrontery. --Bancroft.
Syn: Impudence; sauciness. See Impudence. [1913 Webster]