insult

[ verb in-suhlt; noun in-suhlt ]

/ verb ɪnˈsʌlt; noun ˈɪn sʌlt /

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SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR insult ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object)

to treat or speak to insolently or with contemptuous rudeness; affront.

to affect as an affront; offend or demean.

Archaic. to attack; assault.

verb (used without object)

Archaic. to behave with insolent triumph; exult contemptuously (usually followed by on, upon, or over).

noun

an insolent or contemptuously rude action or remark; affront.

something having the effect of an affront: That book is an insult to one's intelligence.

Medicine/Medical.

an injury or trauma.
an agent that inflicts this.

Archaic. an attack or assault.

Nearby words

insulinoma, insulitis, insull, insull, samuel, insuloma, insult, insultation, insulting, insuperable, insupportable, insuppressible

Origin of insult

1560–70; < Latin insultāre to jump on, insult, equivalent to in- in-² + -sultāre, combining form of saltāre to jump; see saltant

SYNONYMS FOR insult

1 offend, scorn, injure, abuse.

5 offense, outrage. 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.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR insult ON THESAURUS.COM

ANTONYMS FOR insult

1, 5 compliment.

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Related forms

in·sult·a·ble, adjectivein·sult·er, nounpre·in·sult, verb (used with object)qua·si-in·sult·ed, adjective

un·in·sult·a·ble, adjectiveun·in·sult·ed, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for insult

Insult to injury, its $43 million gross was less than one-fifth of what Ted took in.
The Biggest Bombs of 2014: ‘Sex Tape,’ Mariah Carey’s Vocals, ‘How I Met Your Mother’ and More|Kevin Fallon|December 19, 2014|DAILY BEAST
The cardinals had such a bad reputation that the very term “cardinal” became an insult in Renaissance Rome.
Great Renaissance Art Thrived Amid Filth|Nick Romeo|December 3, 2014|DAILY BEAST
At least part of the motivation for that change came from people coming out of the closet and putting a human face on the insult.
Yes, ‘Aspergery’ Is a Slur and It's Time to Stop Using It|Emily Shire|October 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Donald Trump has gone all the way to Iowa to insult New York.
Trump Travels to Iowa, Bashes New York|Ben Jacobs|October 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

Why do you insult thousands of years of tradition in such an awful way?
Putin’s Hockey Pal Tells All: Slava Fetisov on ‘Red Army,’ Soviet Nostalgia, and What Drives Putin|Marlow Stern|October 9, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thither i'th' evening, and which is the most infliction, Only to insult upon our miseries.Cler.
The Little French Lawyer|Francis Beaumont
And the insult had come before my men and his friends and the people in the street.
Captain Macklin|Richard Harding Davis
To pluck a weed from the roadside and present it to one's sovereign would be no better than an insult.
The Expositor's Bible: The Second Book of Samuel|W. G. Blaikie
I will not say (whatever I may think) that this affair has been got up solely to degrade and insult me.
Dombey and Son|Charles Dickens
Would you insult and injure a modest maiden, slave though she be?
Darkness and Dawn|Frederic W. Farrar

British Dictionary definitions for insult

insult

verb (ɪnˈsʌlt) (tr)

to treat, mention, or speak to rudely; offend; affront

obsolete to assault; attack

noun (ˈɪnsʌlt)

an offensive or contemptuous remark or action; affront; slight

a person or thing producing the effect of an affrontsome television is an insult to intelligence

med an injury or trauma

add insult to injury to make an unfair or unacceptable situation even worse

Derived Formsinsulter, noun

Word Origin for insult

C16: from Latin insultāre to jump upon, from in- ² + saltāre to jump

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for insult (1 of 2)

insult

v.

1560s, "triumph over in an arrogant way," from Middle French insulter (14c.) and directly from Latin insultare "to assail, to leap upon" (already used by Cicero in sense of "insult, scoff at, revile"), frequentative of insilire "leap at or upon," from in- "on, at" (see in- (2)) + salire "to leap" (see salient (adj.)). Sense of "to verbally abuse, affront, assail with disrespect" is from 1610s. Related: Insulted; insulting.

Word Origin and History for insult (1 of 2)

insult

n.

c.1600 in the sense of "attack;" 1670s as "an act of insulting," from Middle French insult (14c.) or directly from Late Latin insultus, from insilire (see insult (v.)). To add insult to injury translates Latin injuriae contumeliam addere.

Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper

Medicine definitions for insult

insult

[ ĭn′sŭlt′ ]

n.

A bodily injury, irritation, or trauma.

The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.

Idioms and Phrases with insult

insult

see add insult to injury.

The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.