How to Use insolence in a Sentence

insolence

noun
  • Some of this was a matter of the insolence of riches and pride of place.
    — Adam Gopnik, New Yorker, 8 June 2026
  • The tone of the race between the insurgents has shocked many for its raw anger and insolence.
    — Alissa J. Rubin, New York Times, 6 May 2017
  • When things go sour, both kids spew insults and indignation with a matter-of-fact insolence.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2026
  • In spite of her insolence and his new son, Viserys is dead set on Rhaenyra inheriting the throne.
    — Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 5 Sep. 2022
  • Palpatine tries to murder Luke for his insolence, but Vader’s love for his son proves too much.
    — EW.com, 1 Nov. 2019
  • Self-respect equated with insolence aimed at oppression remains a threat.
    — Vivian D. Nixon, Harper's BAZAAR, 28 June 2021
  • In the old days, high in his castle on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan, such insolence could be waved away.
    — Philip Bump, Washington Post, 2 June 2017
  • But genuine fast-break insolence is a quality that’s missing from the lumbering cheek of most of our paint-by-numbers blockbusters.
    — Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 9 Mar. 2022
  • Tiger Woods' jaw is slack, not set in defiance, not firm at all, hanging there placidly, without insolence, without resolve.
    — Bernie Lincicome, chicagotribune.com, 10 June 2017
  • The video was filmed on the Lower East Side, and most of the interiors were shot in Lauper’s bedroom. Scene-stealing Albano, dressed in a white undershirt, his elaborate curls bouncing, scolds Lauper for her insolence.
    — Jon Wertheim, Vulture, 25 June 2021
  • Only this time, instead of sneering insolence, Matt Smith’s Daemon was near tears as the king ripped into his brother.
    — Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 21 July 2024
  • As the argument grew heated, Sheikh Dibo could not believe the young foreigner’s insolence.
    — Anand Gopal, New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2026
  • Miss Manners thoroughly disapproves of this guest, whose transgression may have been made out of ignorance but who followed it with insolence.
    — Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2021
  • On Monday, Police charged a 36-year-old man in Louisiana for the latest act of ice cream insolence.
    — Peter Dawson, Houston Chronicle, 9 July 2019
  • Egg’s plucky insolence belies his puny size, a comedic contrast with Claffey’s ex-rugby player physique, and perhaps his seemingly humble origins as well.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 13 Jan. 2026
  • The footguards, who had long been jealous of the prerogatives and insolence of the Praetorian cavalry, embraced the party of the people.
    — Kevin D. Williamson, National Review, 6 June 2019
  • Failure to heed the MAGA campaign to redistribute respect is insolence punishable by death.
    — David Frum, The Atlantic, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Through it all – disease and disaster, injuries and insolence – Major League Baseball is on the doorstep of completing its 60-game season.
    — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 16 Sep. 2020
  • His naïve insolence punctures the vanities of other filmmakers while offering no alternative, and the movie that results is a joyless, confused self-abnegation.
    — Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 11 Apr. 2022
  • Surely, this was the final nail in the countercultural coffin, when the band that personified rebellion and insolence was reduced to having their tour sponsored by a retirement-planning trade group.
    — Joe Queenan, WSJ, 22 Dec. 2021
  • And despite Aegon’s insolence, neither Criston nor Aemond could have predicted that the king would show up to the fight drunk on dragonback before Aemond can arrive.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 7 July 2024
  • Maternal indulgence perhaps helps explain Andrew’s sense of entitlement and insolence.
    — Simon Usborne, Town & Country, 13 Mar. 2022
  • Through scandal and plague, injuries and insolence, the Houston Astros remain unstoppable in the American League playoffs.
    — Gabe Lacques, USA TODAY, 30 Sep. 2020
  • Consequently, the dire state of the planet was pinned on one generation, even lifelong environmentalists, while another was chided for insolence and ignorance.
    — Karen Heller, Washington Post, 24 Dec. 2019
  • Newcastle found Bellamy to be a Jekyll and Hyde character, equally capable of brilliance and insolence, with the two often occurring together.
    — SI.com, 31 Oct. 2019
  • For a huge swath of the populace -- a cross-section of generations and political stripes -- the messages exposed the arrogance and insolence of a political elite long divorced from the struggles of ordinary people.
    — Ray Sanchez, CNN, 2 Aug. 2019
  • Apparently, Lindsay's behavior upset the Survivor Gods more than Geo's insolence.
    — Dalton Ross, EW.com, 13 Oct. 2022
  • Sour cream becomes precious commodity similar to ruthenium or Canadian insolence.
    — Henry Alford, The New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2021
  • In one TikTok video, a conservative influencer acts out dramatically refusing a vaccine, getting beaten to death for her insolence and ascending to heaven.
    — New York Times, 27 Apr. 2021
  • In the worst-case scenario, the resistance escalated, paranoid readings of each party’s intentions dominated on both sides, and the classroom spiralled into suspicion, insolence, complaint, or outright rebellion.
    — Merve Emre, The New Yorker, 11 July 2023

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'insolence.' 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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