cheeky
/ˈt͡ʃiːki/
Word Rarity
Rare
Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.51 in modern English
18
Scrabble Score
6
Letters
2
Syllables
5
Unique Chars
Meaning
adj
Impudent; impertinent; impertinently bold, often in a way that is regarded as endearing or amusing.
Informal
Example Sentences
- "'Shut up,' said Harrison. 'You chaps always behave as if you were jawin' us when we come to jaw you.' / 'You're a lot too cheeky,' said Craye."
- "The Young Turks, as might have been expected, wrote in their customary flippant, cheeky style."
- "Barry said he introduced the cheeky bikini to the Coast three years ago: "I took a theatrical garment worn for as long as there have been strippers and showgirls — the G-string — and put it on the beach and gave it a name and we sold a heap.""
- "Joyce Azria oversees a staff of twelve, manages a multimillion-dollar budget, and, in her first year as director of BCBG swimwear, designed cheeky bikinis and deep-V maillots that became top sellers at Bloomingdale's."
- "A death adder is cheeky, a tree snake quiet. Wasps are only cheeky if you hold them in your hand."
- "There is no doubt that many have been killed by large elapids, and that Aborigines treat such 'cheeky' snakes (and colubrids of similar appearance) with great respect."
Etymology
From cheek + -y. Compare typologically barefaced, bald-faced; Italian sfacciato (< Latin ex- + faciēs); French effronté, Italian sfrontato (< Latin ex- + frons), Polish czelny (< czoło).