/ˈɪmpjʊdəns/
厚颜无耻;放肆无礼。指对他人缺乏尊重,言行举止粗鲁、冒犯,尤其是对长辈或权威人物表现出不敬的态度。
He had the impudence to talk back to his teacher in front of the whole class.
他竟然厚颜无耻地在全班面前顶撞老师。
Her calm impudence in the face of authority, far from being mere rudeness, carried a strange dignity that unsettled everyone in the room.
她面对权威时那种从容的放肆,远不止是无礼,反而带着一种奇异的尊严,令在场所有人都感到不安。
源自拉丁语 impudentia,由前缀 **in-**(表示"不、无")与 pudentia(意为"羞耻感",来自 pudēre,"感到羞耻")组成,字面意思是"没有羞耻心"。该词经由古法语进入英语,自14世纪起便用于形容不知廉耻、冒犯无礼的行为。