insulting

[in-suhl-ting]

adjective

1. giving or causing insult; characterized by affronting rudeness, insolence, etc.

   Synonyms: nasty, offensive, derogatory, abusive, discourteous, rude

Other Word Forms

• insultingly adverb
• uninsulting adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of insulting¹

First recorded in 1585–95; insult + -ing ²

Example Sentences

After asking questions about her family background, Enat says the soldiers began insulting her, then threatened her niece with a gun when the little girl started crying.

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Eventually they grew too exhausted to continue insulting each other and dropped miserably off to sleep.

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In a tetchy exchange, the officials insisted that the response had been swift and effective and that it was "untrue and insulting" to criticise.

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The most insulting thing about the success of Breaking Rust, an artificial intelligence “artist” that topped Billboard’s Country Digital Song Sales Chart this week, is the titles of the hits.

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Just two years later, he was arrested again for insulting Islam with a Lunar New Year video that featured dancers wearing dog masks and performing suggestive moves.

Read more on Barron's

Related Words

• biting 
• degrading 
• derogatory 
• disparaging 
• disrespectful 
• hurtful 
• offensive 
• repulsive 
• rude