uppity
Acting above station
Uppity describes someone who doesn't accept their expected place in a social hierarchy—acting above their station, asserting themselves when deference is expected.
The word carries a history of racial condescension, frequently used by white Americans to disparage Black people who refused subservience: That uppity Negro thinks he's as good as us.
Today it's applied more broadly to anyone seen as presumptuous or self-important, but the racial undertone lingers, especially in American usage.
Excessively proud of oneself
- snobbishCondescending toward perceived inferiors
- superciliousArrogantly contemptuous of others
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
- egotisticalExcessively self-centered
self-important · overbearing · presumptuous · smug · haughty · imperious · high-and-mighty · lofty
Defying rightful authority
- disobedientRefusing to follow orders
- noncompliantFailing to conform
- recalcitrantStubbornly resistant to control
- obstinateFirmly refusing to yield
unyielding · rebellious · uncooperative · willful · headstrong · contrary · refractory · intractable
Exceeding proper limits
- out-of-placeNot fitting the surroundings
- oversteppingExceeding appropriate bounds
- pushyUnpleasantly forceful in manner
- forwardOnward in direction
aspirational · ambitious · self-aggrandizing · pretentious · assuming · immodest · overfamiliar · fresh
Bold, offensive disrespect
- disrespectLack of regard
- impertinenceRude disregard for propriety
- cheekAudacity or facial side
- nerveSignal-carrying body fiber
gall · audacity · effrontery · impudence · brashness · brass · temerity · boldness
conceited
Excessively proud of oneself
- snobbishCondescending toward perceived inferiors
- superciliousArrogantly contemptuous of others
- pompousAffectedly grand in manner
egotistical · self-important · overbearing · presumptuous · smug · haughty · imperious · high-and-mighty · lofty · disdainful
insubordinate
Defying rightful authority
- disobedientRefusing to follow orders
- noncompliantFailing to conform
- recalcitrantStubbornly resistant to control
obstinate · unyielding · rebellious · uncooperative · willful · headstrong · contrary · refractory · intractable · unmanageable
overreaching
Exceeding proper limits
- out-of-placeNot fitting the surroundings
- oversteppingExceeding appropriate bounds
- pushyUnpleasantly forceful in manner
forward · aspirational · ambitious · self-aggrandizing · pretentious · assuming · immodest · overfamiliar · fresh · nervy
insolence
Bold, offensive disrespect
- disrespectLack of regard
- impertinenceRude disregard for propriety
- cheekAudacity or facial side
nerve · gall · audacity · effrontery · impudence · brashness · brass · temerity · boldness · sassiness
- egotismarrogant, conceited, egocentric, egomaniac, egotist
- condescendingpatronizing, disdainful, scornful, dismissive, belittling
- snobberysnob, snobbery, snooty, elitism, snoot
- class labelsaristocrat, beggar, bourgeois, commoner, elite
uppitydeferential
Showing humble submission
submissive · meek · humble · compliant · subservient
uppityhumble
Unassuming about oneself
modest · unassuming · unpretentious · self-effacing · lowly