What's the difference between
and
Enter two words to compare and contrast their definitions, origins, and synonyms to better understand how those words are related.

Overweening vs Effrontery - What's the difference?

overweening | effrontery |

As nouns the difference between overweening and effrontery

is that overweening is an excessively high opinion of oneself or one's abilities; presumption, arrogance while effrontery is (uncountable) insolent and shameless audacity.

As an adjective overweening

is unduly confident; arrogant; presumptuous; conceited.

As a verb overweening

is .

overweening

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Unduly confident; arrogant; presumptuous; conceited.
  • * Shakespeare
    • Here's an overweening rogue.
    She wins one modeling contest in Montana and suddenly she's overweening .
  • *1870 ,
  • *:No success rendered him overweening and no disaster was ever known to stagger his firmness.
  • *1908 , Frederic Bancroft and William A. Dunning,
  • *:The Senate was displaying an overweening hauteur as if it were the government.
  • Exaggerated, excessive
  • * {{quote-web
    • , date=20150104 , year= , first= , last= , author=Jonathan Rauch , authorlink= , title=How to Make Men Free , site=NY Times citation , archiveorg= , accessdate=21050215 , passage=The idea that an overweening federal government is a threat to both freedom and equality (not to mention prosperity) goes back to Jefferson, James Madison, Patrick Henry and some other fairly respectable personages. }}

    Derived terms

    * overweeningly * overweeningness

    Noun

    (-)
  • An excessively high opinion of oneself or one's abilities; presumption, arrogance.
  • *, II.12:
  • *:Let us suppresse this over-weening .

    • Verb

    (head)

    • effrontery

    English

    Noun

  • (uncountable) Insolent and shameless audacity.
    • We even had the effrontery to suggest that he should leave the country.
  • (countable) An act of insolent and shameless audacity.
    • Any refusal to salute the president shall be counted as an effrontery .

    Quotations

    * (English Citations of "effrontery")

    References

    * 2005, Ed. Catherine Soanes and Angus Stevenson, The Oxford Dictionary of English (2nd edition revised) , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0198610572 * 1996, T.F. Hoad, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Etymology , Oxford University Press, ISBN 0192830988 *