Rashness applies to the actual rushing into danger without counting the cost; temerity denotes the needless exposure of oneself to peril which is or might be clearly seen to be such.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

gall I'm surprised that Tom had the gall to do that.
impudence He had the impudence to cut across our garden.
effrontery His effrontery turned everyone in the firm against him.
audacity David had the audacity to ask Martha out on a date.
rashness I was not too pleased with his rashness to take down that guy.

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
temerity		steady
gall		falling
impudence		steady
effrontery		steady
brashness		steady
audacity		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

4 letters: gall¹
5 letters: cheek¹, brass¹
8 letters: audacity⁴, boldness², chutzpah², rashness
9 letters: insolence³, impudence, brashness², hardihood
10 letters: effrontery⁴
11 letters: presumption³
12 letters: recklessness³, impertinence, heedlessness
13 letters: foolhardiness, audaciousness
14 letters: overconfidence⁵
15 letters: venturesomeness

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (audacity⁴ = 4 syllables).

In other languages

Français: témérité
Italiano: temerarietà
Español: temeridad
Deutsch: Waghalsigkeit