audacity
Americannoun
-
boldness or daring, especially with confident or arrogant disregard for personal safety, conventional thought, or other restrictions.
- Synonyms:
- foolhardiness, temerity, grit, spunk, nerve
- Antonyms:
- prudence, discretion
-
effrontery or insolence; shameless boldness.
His questioner's audacity shocked the lecturer.
- Synonyms:
- brashness, impertinence, impudence
- Antonyms:
- discretion, prudence
-
Usually audacities audacious or particularly bold or daring acts or statements.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of audacity
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English audacite, equivalent to Latin audāc- (stem of audāx “bold, daring”) + -ity
Explanation
If you have audacity then you're one daring — and perhaps reckless — character. Running a red light with three previous tickets under your belt certainly shows audacity. And stupidity. The noun audacity developed from the Latin word audacitas, which means “boldness." So someone who shows audacity makes bold moves — and isn't afraid of the consequences. Audacity can be admired or frowned upon, depending how far it's taken and how it rears its head. But as former British Prime Minister and novelist Benjamin Disraeli once said, “Success is the child of audacity.”
Vocabulary lists containing audacity
"The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe
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"The Odyssey" by Homer, Books 1–7
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"The Tell-Tale Heart," Vocabulary from the short story
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
This was shockingly unbookish behavior made worse by flabbergasting audacity.
From Salon • Jul. 7, 2026
"Some people have had the audacity to ask if it was a cross!" he later told BBC Radio 5 live.
From BBC • May 15, 2026
I look back and I just think about the audacity of a young Asian kid in that world.
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 23, 2026
The Purosangue’s wheels and tires, glorious in their audacity, also required some sophisticated workarounds.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 18, 2026
A nation that drew its audacity from the quintessentially American belief that success is open to anyone willing to work for it was disillusioned by seemingly intractable poverty.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
