1880, American English, from up + -ity; originally used by blacks of other blacks felt to It exists with an unwritten social definition, and I cannot help but imagine what other words have come and gone through the last few hundred years, unremarked upon by dictionaries past, yet implicitly understood by the speakers of the language. Isnt it strange just how uppity English has become? Given the heaviness of this origin, it seems best to leave this word at home when looking to uppity (adj.) UPPITY Meaning: "Uncle Remus"). Beck seemed unaware "uppity" was a term racist southerners used for black people who didn't know their place. Uppity-up. It's code for "uppity n___ r" which was a common phrase when I was growing up meaning that a black person was trying to accomplish something above "their station in life." See definitions of uppity. Then come foul up, goof up, gum up, mess up, muck up, screw up and synonymous unprintables. Jean Graham, Serra Mesa Coming from a old white southern, chances are the Georgia congressman did mean it as a racial insult. The word Uppity was first used by Southerners to refer to slaves who did not fall into line, or acted as if they "didn't know their place." Merriam-Webster defines uppity as "putting on or marked by airs of superiority" and likens the word to arrogant and presumptuous behavior. Of course, now that the word is out there, uppity Find 25 ways to say uppity, along with antonyms, related words, and example sentences at Thesaurus.com, the world's most trusted free thesaurus. The word "uppity" has a long and ugly history, and was usually part of a two-word phrase that roughly ran: "uppity n*gger." In 2011, the word got some national coverage when conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said that then-first lady Michelle Obama exhibited "uppity So, basically, any black person who overtly stood up to racism. uppity: 1 adj presumptuously arrogant "getting a little uppity and needed to be slapped down"- NY Times Synonyms: overweening immodest having or showing an Harper McAllister is the nice girl in the mean, rich, uppity girl clique because she buys gifts for everyone--a $700 espresso cart for the basketball team after their fifth lost in a row, $350 for matching t-shirts for her English class to wear to a poetry slam, $600 at Red Door Spa to relieve tension headaches before midterms--but McDaddy has now seen the bill. In fairness, a lot of people don't know for sure whether "uppity" is racist. "Up, up, uppity" the Philly native goes, as his rhymes refuse to tire while carrying the track across the finish line.