From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Impertinence \Im*per"ti*nence\, noun [Cf. F. impertinence. See {Impertinent}.]
1. The condition or quality of being impertinent; absence of pertinence, or of adaptedness; irrelevance; unfitness.
2. Conduct or language unbecoming the person, the society, or the circumstances; rudeness; incivility.
We should avoid the vexation and impertinence of pedants who affect to talk in a language not to be understood. --Swift.
3. That which is impertinent; a thing out of place, or of no value.
There are many subtile impertinences learned in schools. --Watts.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
noun
1: an impudent statement [syn: {impudence}, {cheek}]
2: the trait of being rude and impertinent; inclined to take liberties [syn: {crust}, {gall}, {impudence}, {insolence}, {cheekiness}, {freshness}]
3: inappropriate playfulness [syn: {perkiness}, {pertness}, {sauciness}, {archness}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
73 Moby Thesaurus words for "impertinence": arrogance, audacity, bold front, boldness, brash bearing, brashness, brass, brassiness, bravado, brazenfacedness, brazenness, bumptiousness, butting-in, cheek, cheekiness, chutzpah, cockiness, contempt, contemptuousness, daring, daringness, defial, defiance, defying, derision, despite, disassociation, disconnection, discourtesy, discreteness, disdain, disjunction, disjuncture, disregard, disrespect, disrespectfulness, dissociation, effrontery, face of brass, flippancy, forwardness, freshness, gall, hardihood, immateriality, impoliteness, impudence, inapplicability, inappositeness, incivility, inconnection, inconsequence, independence, inquisitiveness, insolence, intermeddling, intrusiveness, irrelation, irrelevance, meddlesomeness, meddling, nerve, obtrusiveness, officiousness, pertness, presumption, presumptuousness, ridicule, rudeness, sauciness, separateness, unconnectedness, unrelatedness
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