How to Use impertinence in a Sentence

impertinence

noun
  • Now, there is some off-the-charts breezy impertinence!
    — Jessica Winter, New Yorker, 19 June 2026
  • Some might see this as youthful impertinence combined with an awkward metaphor.
    — Jack Handey, The New Yorker, 22 Mar. 2021
  • In less hectic times censors would swiftly stamp out such impertinence.
    — The Economist, 30 Jan. 2020
  • His suggestion not to reply to the pronoun impertinence makes good sense.
    — WSJ, 9 Feb. 2022
  • Of course the request seemed rude to Jean—in the sense that all work was an impertinence that placed her days in service to another.
    — Hannah Gold, Harper’s Magazine , 26 Oct. 2022
  • So the uneasy authorities decided that such impertinence must be silenced once and for all.
    — The Editorial Board, Oc Register, 5 Apr. 2026
  • Slim glinted dangerously at her granddaughter and swallowed the girl’s impertinence up with a laugh.
    — Lauren Groff, The New Yorker, 27 Apr. 2021
  • Infuriated by the young lieutenant’s impertinence, the captain ordered him out of his office.
    — Andrew Carroll, Smithsonian, 3 Apr. 2017
  • By his late 30s, the same piercing humor and cool impertinence that had marked his ascent up the social ladder also marked his descent into disgrace.
    — Ignacio Peyró, National Geographic, 18 June 2019
  • Somehow, Arnautoff’s impertinence was overlooked at the time.
    — Kevin Baker, Harper's magazine, 28 Oct. 2019
  • Connecting with the spirit world, however, explores the impertinence of the physical realm.
    — Aliza Kelly Faragher, Allure, 19 June 2018
  • Nike compounded their impertinence by announcing withdrawal of production for facile reasoning that it could be seen as racist symbol.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 12 July 2019
  • But Son seems more deeply affronted by the effortlessness of Justin’s existence than by the impertinence of his manner.
    — Hua Hsu, The New Yorker, 26 July 2021
  • Yet for all of the annoyance at the apparent impertinence of my visit, I was struck by the way the identity politics raised by Hérouxville still resonate.
    — Dan Bilefsky, New York Times, 12 Apr. 2018
  • Stephen's fearlessness, combined with his charming impertinence, was vital to his success as a scientist, and as an individual.
    — Anchorage Daily News, 16 Mar. 2018
  • Besides the novel animal effects, the music was unprecedented in its lively tempo, noisy humor, brash energy and overall impertinence.
    — John Edward Hasse, Smithsonian, 24 Feb. 2017
  • Or exacerbated the impertinence.
    — Literary Hub, 28 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'impertinence.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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