malapertness means the condition of being malapert. It carries an Arena rating of 1376, earned across 8 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, malapertness ranks #5,380 of 17,128 for Most Ponderous Words, #5,760 of 17,163 for Funniest Words, #6,060 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #6,737 of 17,140 for Most Whimsical Words.
Why “malapertness” is a great word
Impudent boldness or saucy, disrespectful forwardness, from Middle English malepertnesse, derived from the adjective malapert (from Middle French, meaning 'unskillful' or 'impudent', from mal- ("badly") + apert ("skilled, clever")) + the suffix -ness. Unlike audacity, which can be draped in heroic defiance, or impudence, a blunt instrument of shameless disrespect, malapertness is a specifically cheeky presumption, the weapon of the social underling. It is the stableboy who winks at the queen, the scullery maid who corrects the bishop's Latin, or the junior clerk who uses an over-familiar nickname—a small, sharp rebellion that punctures solemnity with the unforgivable needle of truth.
Etymology
From Middle English malepertnesse; equivalent to malapert + -ness.
noun
- The condition of being malapert.
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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