insult
Americanverb (used with object)
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insults,
present (3rd person singular)
-
insulted,
past participle, past
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insulting
present participle
-
to treat or speak to insolently or with contemptuous rudeness; affront.
- Antonyms:
- compliment
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to affect as an affront; offend or demean.
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Archaic. to attack; assault.
verb (used without object)
-
insults,
present (3rd person singular)
-
insulted,
past participle, past
-
insulting
present participle
noun
-
insults
plural
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an insolent or contemptuously rude action or remark; affront.
- Antonyms:
- compliment
-
something having the effect of an affront.
That book is an insult to one's intelligence.
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Medicine/Medical.
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an injury or trauma.
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an agent that inflicts this.
-
-
Archaic. an attack or assault.
verb
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to treat, mention, or speak to rudely; offend; affront
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obsolete to assault; attack
noun
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an offensive or contemptuous remark or action; affront; slight
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a person or thing producing the effect of an affront
some television is an insult to intelligence
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med an injury or trauma
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to make an unfair or unacceptable situation even worse
Usage
What is an insult? An insult is a rude action or remark meant to harm someone’s reputation or hurt their feelings. Insults come in many forms, often attacking the mental or physical characteristics of someone or something. To insult someone is to offend or demean them, as by making harmful remarks. An insult is also something that has the effect of a harmful remark. For example, you could say that your father telling you how to do something that you know how to do is an insult to your intelligence, even though your father was trying to be helpful rather than insulting. You can feel insulted without someone intentionally being rude because feelings are unplanned reactions, meaning some people find it best to think about whether the insult was intended or not. Insults are sometimes exchanged lightheartedly among friends just for fun. Example: How dare she insult me like that on such an important day!
Synonym Usage
Insult, indignity, affront, slight imply an act that injures another's honor, self-respect, etc. Insult implies such insolence of speech or manner as deeply humiliates or wounds one's feelings and arouses to anger. Indignity is especially used of inconsiderate, contemptuous treatment toward one entitled to respect. Affront implies open disrespect or offense shown, as it were, to the face. Slight may imply inadvertent indifference or disregard, which may also indicate ill-concealed contempt.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
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insulternoun
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preinsultverb (used with object)
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insultableadjective
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quasi-insultedadjective
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uninsultableadjective
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uninsultedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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insultsimple
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insultssimple
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have insultedperfect
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has insultedperfect
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am insultingprogressive
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are insultingprogressive
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is insultingprogressive
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have been insultingperfect progressive
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has been insultingperfect progressive
Past
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insultedsimple
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had insultedperfect
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was insultingprogressive
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were insultingprogressive
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had been insultingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of insult
First recorded in 1560–70; from Latin insultāre “to jump on, insult,” equivalent to in- in- 2 + -sultāre, combining form of saltāre “to jump”; see saltant
Explanation
If you insult someone, you have offended that person — either intentionally or unintentionally — through your actions or words. You might insult your host if you refuse to try the dessert he made from pasta, nuts, and chocolate sauce. As a noun, an insult means rude words or actions. If you tell the umpire he needs glasses, then you've made a verbal insult. If, after the umpire calls your team out, you make an obscene gesture in his general direction, you've made another kind of insult. Either insult can potentially get you thrown out of the game.
Vocabulary lists containing insult
English Words Derived from French, List 1
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Because of Winn-Dixie
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Sarah, Plain and Tall
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
It is now an offence for players or officials to insult someone because of their race, religion, ethnicity, colour, nationality or background.
From Barron's ● Aug. 20, 2026
She added it was an "insult to Andrew's family, his friends, his colleagues and the entire policing family".
From BBC ● Aug. 14, 2026
Frankie invents a new nonsensical insult, calling Molly’s boyfriend Josh “such a customer.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
He looks vulnerable as India’s unemployed youths transform an insult into a political rallying cry.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026
He felt like he was back in middle school, when a good insult could make you king.
From "Anger Is a Gift" by Mark Oshiro
CNN released a statement praising Holmes for asking “a tough, relevant, and newsworthy question on behalf of the American people” and calling personal insults “beneath the office.”
From Slate ● Aug. 18, 2026
He added, “I’ve received a lot of insults in my day, but that might be the lowest.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 18, 2026
Brazil's government on Sunday also summoned Argentina's ambassador to discuss those "insults," the source told AFP.
From Barron's ● Jul. 26, 2026
Within minutes of the young man in Kasenyi sending out his note, a crowd had gathered around the four volunteers, heckling them and shouting insults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 16, 2026
She hadn’t been listening to that last speech of Count Olaf’s, knowing it would be full of the usual self-congratulatory nonsense and despicable insults.
From "The Bad Beginning" by Lemony Snicket
Police say the brothers insulted a woman during an altercation over loud noise.
From Barron's ● Jul. 13, 2026
Musk has offered to fund a private prosecution against the police over its handling of the murder, and insulted the Hampshire Police force.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
Petro and Trump have clashed and regularly publicly insulted each other over issues including drug-trafficking and US intervention in the region, though relations improved after a meeting at the White House in February.
From BBC ● May 31, 2026
Woodson was probably more insulted by being called an intellectual, but the episode speaks volumes about why he parted ways with traditional civil-rights leaders in the 1970s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 26, 2026
As I understand it, at first Doña Charito was insulted at the de la Torre request: she was an artiste; she took on apprentices, not children.
From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez
The chain was accused of trivialising the nation's landmark protest movement and insulting the dead, remembered as martyrs by many South Koreans.
From Barron's ● Aug. 5, 2026
This felt particularly insulting because I really, really love sandwiches—not merely as lunch, but as a form.
From Salon ● Jul. 30, 2026
"The chasteness of Nolan's version bugs me as it's insulting he doesn't trust audiences to grapple with this hero's moral complexity - and I'm gut-sick that he's probably right."
From BBC ● Jul. 15, 2026
The chasteness of Nolan’s version bugs me as it’s insulting he doesn’t trust audiences to grapple with this hero’s moral complexity — and I’m gut-sick that he’s probably right.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 15, 2026
His dark eyes flash to mine, and I can't tell if he's defending or insulting me.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
