as in gall
shameless boldness
the little squirt had the effrontery to deny eating any cookies, even with the crumbs still on his lips
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Recent Examples of effrontery
Both clever, the younger had the effrontery to be popular and sporty, too.
—
Esther Freud, Vogue, 2 July 2025
Ani is one of HQ’s best girls, and Madison plays her with a bawdy effrontery and a disarming grin that seems to widen by a mile under neon lights.
—Justin Chang, The New Yorker, 11 Oct. 2024
Blocking the medical board from physician regulation is the worst effrontery to medical professionalism, puts the public at unacceptable risk, and might be a place for bad physician actors to be shrouded and protected.
—Joel B. Zivot, STAT, 26 Feb. 2024
These companies apparently have the effrontery to resist the attempts to reduce their access to capital being organized, primarily, by a largely unaccountable cabal of activists, financial institutions, and state pension funds.
—Andrew Stuttaford, National Review, 7 Jan. 2024
See All Example Sentences for effrontery
Recent Examples of Synonyms for effrontery
Noun
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DeSantis has offered a few limp rationalizations for his demand, but nothing that would overcome the sheer gall of this re-write of the rules.—
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In 1994, at 33, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, which led to the removal of part of his pancreas, the duodenum, the gall bladder and part of his liver.—
Noun
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His brands, including Juicy Fruit and Spearmint, promoted gum as a way to calm nerves, curb hunger and stay focused.—
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What's more, these effects also support brain health4, as the gut and brain are connected through a network of nerves called the gut-brain axis.—
Noun
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Miami, Fort Lauderdale and West Palm Beach take turns transforming into floating marketplaces — docks converted to catwalks, hulls polished to reflective arrogance, sales reps who can quote fuel burn like yacht owners care about costs.—
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College football is awash in problems, including the Big Ten’s unrivaled arrogance, and its never-ending list of demands that would make Notre Dame blush.—
Noun
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Sylvie's storylines are ridiculous, her wardrobe obscene, her audacity unparalleled.—
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The sheer audacity of the recent Louvre heist has whetted us readers’ appetites for heist stories—space heists, all the better!—
Noun
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The first trial session for The Great Lakes Suite took place about a year and a half ago — which Hearn and Bidini say nobody had the temerity to record at the time.—
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Invigorating in its temerity, Smith’s six-episode Season 5 is told with propulsive clarity (save for the mysteries you’re intended to guess at).—
Cite this Entry
“Effrontery.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/effrontery. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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