audacity

[aw-das-i-tee]

noun

plural

audacities 

1. 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

2. effrontery or insolence; shameless boldness.

   His questioner's audacity shocked the lecturer.

   Synonyms: brashness, impertinence, impudence
   Antonyms: discretion, prudence

3. Usually audacities audacious or particularly bold or daring acts or statements.

Word History and Origins

Origin of audacity¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English audacite, equivalent to Latin audāc- (stem of audāx “bold, daring”) + -ity

Example Sentences

But Brook had the audacity and skill to punch back.

From BBC

“It is orders like these that underscore the audacity of the lower courts as well as the chaos within the judicial branch. We look forward to ultimate victory on the issue,” Fields said.

From Los Angeles Times

"The MoD had the audacity to turn round and say they looked after us to the best of their ability," he said.

From BBC

Or maybe we simply refuse to believe that audacity, hope and pride in collective achievement is a thing of the past in the United States, and especially in California.

From Los Angeles Times

“You have to have confidence, you have to have the audacity to believe that you are going to do Hamlet — and that you can do Hamlet,” O’Hara says.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• chutzpah 
• gall 
• guts www.thesaurus.com
• spunk