malapert


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Related to malapert: habiliment

mal·a·pert

 (măl′ə-pûrt′)
adj.
Impudently bold in speech or manner; saucy.
n.
An impudent, saucy person.
[Middle English, from Old French : mal-, mal- + apert, clever, alteration (influenced by apert, clever, saucy; see pert) of Latin expertus; see expert.]
mal′a·pert′ly adv.
mal′a·pert′ness n.
American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

malapert

(ˈmæləˌpɜːt)
adj
saucy or impudent
n
a saucy or impudent person
[C15: from Old French: unskilful (see mal-, expert); meaning in English influenced by apert frank, from Latin apertus open]
ˈmalaˌpertly adv
ˈmalaˌpertness n
Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

mal•a•pert

(ˈmæl əˌpɜrt)

adj.
impertinent; bold.
[1375–1425; late Middle English: insolent < Middle French: unskillful. See mal-, pert]
mal′a•pert`ly, adv.
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.
ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

malapert

adjective
Rude and disrespectful:
assuming, assumptive, audacious, bold, boldfaced, brash, brazen, cheeky, contumelious, familiar, forward, impertinent, impudent, insolent, nervy, overconfident, pert, presuming, presumptuous, pushy, sassy, saucy, smart.
Informal: brassy, flip, fresh, smart-alecky, snippety, snippy, uppish, uppity.
Slang: wise.
noun
One who is obnoxiously self-assertive and arrogant:
witling.
Informal: know-it-all, saucebox, smart aleck, smarty, smarty-pants, wisenheimer.
Slang: wiseacre, wisecracker, wise guy.
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
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References in classic literature ?
In such a situation, her father's malapert question rushing suddenly upon her, produced some symptoms which might have alarmed a suspicious heart; but, to do the squire justice, that was not his fault.
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Fair ladies, brave knights, churls, varlets, squires, scurvy knaves, men-at-arms, malapert rogues--all were merry.
The guests sat at the upper table, the ladies in a gallery above them, while the usual drove of men-at-arms, archers, malapert rogues, varlets, scurvy knaves, scullions, and plug-uglies attached to all medieval households, squashed in near the door, wherever they could find room.
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And this is old Fitzurse's boasted policy, encouraging these malapert knaves to rebel against us!
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Instead, peaks on the rims of the craters Cabeus and Malapert are the most southerly named features that can usually be identified telescopically when librations tip the south pole toward Earth.
Peaks of "eternal" light: if we ever try to live on the moon, the best locations will be polar mountains bathed in nearly continuous sunlight

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