temerity means reckless boldness; foolish bravery. It carries an Arena rating of 1916, earned across 28 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, temerity ranks #82 of 42,762 for Qualifying, #1,984 of 17,126 for Most Satisfying to Say, #2,904 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #3,154 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
temerity is pronounced /tɪˈmɛɹ.ɪ.ti/.
Why “temerity” is a great word
Reckless boldness or audacity, especially in violating social conventions or showing disrespect. From Middle English *temerite*, from Old French *temerité*, from Latin *temeritās* ("chance, rashness"), from *temere* ("by chance, rashly"), first attested in English in the early 15th century. Unlike "audacity," which can be neutral or even admiring, or "confidence," which implies a positive, well-founded belief, temerity carries the stinging charge of foolishness—an unwarranted and imprudent overstepping. It is the guest who raises a toast to the host's bankruptcy, the cutting remark offered with a smirk in a silent room, the borrowing of a cherished book without asking—the small, sharp shock of a boundary crossed without the grace of earned privilege, a reminder that not all boldness is brave, but some is merely blind.
Etymology
From Middle English temerite, temeryte, from Old French temerité, from Latin temeritās (“chance, accident, rashness”), from temere (“by chance, casually, rashly”). By surface analysis, temer(arious) + -ity.
noun
- Reckless boldness; foolish bravery.
- An act or case of reckless boldness.e.g.“Draper, dear lad, had the illusion of an "intellectual sympathy" between them.... Draper's temerities would always be of that kind.” — 1910 Sept, Edith Wharton, “The Blond Beast”, in Scribner's Magazine, volume 48:
- Effrontery; impudence.e.g.“He had very nearly been guilty of the temerity of arrogating to himself another title in the presence of those he most respected.” — 1820, James Fennimore Cooper, chapter 30, in Precaution:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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