Word: effrontery (noun)

Associations

Effrontery means very bold and disrespectful behavior. It is when someone acts without shame or is rude in a way that surprises or offends others.

• Example 1: She had the effrontery to interrupt the meeting and criticize the boss. This means she was very bold and rude.
• Example 2: His effrontery in asking for a raise after arriving late every day shocked everyone. Here, it shows disrespect and boldness.
• Example 3: The student's effrontery made the teacher angry because he talked back without any respect. A well-known synonym is "impudence." The difference is that effrontery often suggests shameless boldness, while impudence can be any kind of disrespect, sometimes less strong.

Substitution

You can replace "effrontery" with:

• audacity (boldness, but sometimes positive)
• nerve (informal, boldness that can be annoying)
• cheek (informal, disrespectful boldness)
• impudence (rudeness or disrespect) Changing the word may change the tone. For example, "audacity" can be positive or negative, but "effrontery" is usually negative and strong.

Deconstruction

"Effrontery" comes from French "effronterie," which comes from Latin "effront-" meaning "shameless." The root is "front," meaning forehead or face, so it means "to have a face without shame" or "shamelessness."

• prefix "ef-" = variant of "ex-" meaning "out of" or "without"
• root "front" = face or forehead
• suffix "-ery" = a noun form meaning a quality or behavior So, effrontery literally means behavior that shows no shame or a bold face.

Inquiry

• Can you think of a time when someone showed effrontery in a story or in real life?
• How would you react if someone showed you effrontery?
• Is effrontery always bad, or can it sometimes be useful? Why?