uppity

Adjective

uppity (comparative uppitier, superlative uppitiest)

1. Presumptuous, above oneself, self-important; arrogant, snobbish, haughty.
   • "Hit wuz wunner dese yer uppity little Jack Sparrers, I speck," said the old man; "dey wuz allers bodder'n' longer udder fokes's bizness1881, Joel Chandler Harris, Uncle Remus: His Songs and His Sayings; the Folk-lore of the Old Plantation

   Synonyms:

   airy, arrogant, chesty, authoritarian, biggity, big-headed, blustery, turgescent, boastful, lordly

2. Exceeding one's station or position, assuming prerogatives to which one is not entitled.
   • And the Yankees are very upset because so many uppity darkies have been killed recently.1936 June 30, Margaret Mitchell, Gone with the Wind, New York, N.Y.: The Macmillan Company, published June 1944, →OCLC, part IV, page 562
   • The Association was openly committed to "restoring the historical balance of power intended by our Founders" between the nobility and the uppity commoners […]1993, David Weber, On Basilisk Station, Paperback edition (Sci-Fi), →ISBN, page 141