temerity

noun

te·​mer·​i·​ty tə-ˈmer-ə-tē 

plural temerities

1

: unreasonable or foolhardy contempt of danger or opposition : rashness, recklessness

2

: a rash or reckless act

Did you know?

When you’re feeling saucy, there’s no shortage of words in the English language you can use to describe the particular flavor of your metaphorical sauce, from audacity and effrontery to the Yiddish-derived fan favorite chutzpah. If we may be so bold, let us also suggest temerity: it comes from the Latin temere, meaning “recklessly” or “haphazardly,” and is good for suggesting boldness even in the face of danger or likely punishment. Temerity is a formal word, rarely used in casual writing or conversation, but provided you have the cheek to flout this convention, you may be thinking “what have I got to lose?”

Synonyms

• audaciousness
• audacity
• brashness
• brass
• brassiness
• brazenness
• cheek
• cheekiness
• chutzpah
• chutzpa
• hutzpah
• hutzpa
• crust
• effrontery
• face
• gall
• nerve
• nerviness
• pertness
• presumption
• presumptuousness
• sauce
• sauciness

Choose the Right Synonym for temerity

temerity, audacity, hardihood, effrontery, nerve, cheek, gall, chutzpah mean conspicuous or flagrant boldness.

temerity suggests boldness arising from rashness and contempt of danger.

had the temerity to refuse

audacity implies a disregard of restraints commonly imposed by convention or prudence.

an entrepreneur with audacity and vision

hardihood suggests firmness in daring and defiance.

admired for her hardihood

effrontery implies shameless, insolent disregard of propriety or courtesy.

outraged at his effrontery

nerve, cheek, gall, and chutzpah are informal equivalents for effrontery.

the nerve of that guy

has the cheek to call herself a singer

had the gall to demand proof

the chutzpah needed for a career in show business

Examples of temerity in a Sentence

He defeated giant corporations—the auto industry, big pharma—back when no one else was even trying to; he had the temerity to believe that fighting for safety and quality and transparency was a quintessentially American thing to do. —Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly, 16 Feb. 2007

A wisp of a kid (six feet, 160 pounds) with the temerity to buzz pitches up and in to Barry Bonds, Hudson has a bit of Pedro in him. —ESPN, 24 July 2000

… all the while you're balancing your two prevailing interests: recording her words to later use against her—because, she, too, had the temerity to be relatively famous and attractive (with a master's from Penn)—while also, more pressingly, trying to get invited back to her apartment. —Dave Eggers, A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius, 2000

He was punished for his temerity.

she had the temerity to ask me if she could borrow some money even though she never repaid the last loan

Recent Examples on the Web

Chuck Schumer wore a sense of betrayal on his face when Kristen Welker of NBC News had the temerity to confront him with his own remarks. —Noah Rothman, National Review, 20 Feb. 2025

In the beginning, many scoffed at the temerity of a peanut farmer and one-term governor running for the highest office in the land. —Scott Kraft, Los Angeles Times, 29 Dec. 2024

The simple truth is that the DOJ is always on the warpath against businesses possessing the temerity to not just meet the needs of consumers, but lead them. —John Tamny, Forbes, 22 Nov. 2024

The Times was especially agitated that the boys’ fathers had had the temerity to go to federal court over this. —Patt Morrison, Los Angeles Times, 30 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English temeryte, borrowed from Latin temeritāt- temeritās, from temere "blindly, recklessly, haphazardly" + -itāt- -itās -ity; temere going back to adverbialized locative singular of a noun *temes- "darkness," going back to Indo-European *temH-es-, whence also Sanskrit tamas- "darkness, gloom," Avestan tǝmah-, and, from the base *temH-, Lithuanian témsta, témti "to become dark," tamsà "darkness," tim͂sras "dark red (of a horse), sorrel," Old Church Slavic tĭma "darkness," tĭmĭnŭ "dark, gloomy," and from a *-ro- adjectival derivative Sanskrit tamra- "darkening, oppressive," Germanic *þemra- "darkness," whence Old High German demar "dusk, twilight"

Note: See also tenebrae.

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for temerity

• alterity
• asperity
• austerity
• celerity
• dexterity
• disparity
• hilarity
• molarity
• planarity
• polarity
• posterity
• prosperity

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Kids Definition

temerity

noun

te·​mer·​i·​ty tə-ˈmer-ət-ē 

: the quality or state of being recklessly or foolishly bold