also: せんしょう
audacity; forwardness; effrontery; impertinence
Rare literary term for presumptuous or overstepping behavior; not used in everyday conversation.
Everyone frowned at his audacious attitude.
That remark is the height of impertinence.
overstepping one's authority; abuse of power; acting ultra vires
Rare kanji spelling; the reading せんじょう is standard for this form.
Obsolete reading variant; marked as out-dated kana usage.
The kanji 僭 means 'usurp' or 'overstep', and 上 means 'above' or 'superior'. The compound literally suggests overstepping one's rank or position. The exact historical derivation is uncertain, but the word is now rare and literary.