insult

[ verb in-suhlt; noun in-suhlt ]

See synonyms for: insult insulted insulting insults 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.

Origin of insult

First recorded in1560–70; from Latin insultāre “to jump on, insult,” equivalent to in- in-² + -sultāre, combining form of saltāre “to jump”; see saltant

synonym study For insult

5. 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 words for insult

1	offend, scorn, injure, abuse
5	offense, outrage

See synonyms for insult on Thesaurus.com

Opposites for insult

1, 5	compliment

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Other words from insult

in·sult·a·ble, adjective
in·sult·er, noun
pre·in·sult, verb (used with object)
qua·si-in·sult·ed, adjective
un·in·sult·a·ble, adjective
un·in·sult·ed, adjective

Words Nearby insult

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use insult in a sentence

That the “short list” was most of the world, or that the term ultimately devolved into an insult, seems unsurprising in retrospect.
America is a Third World country now | Ellen McGirt | September 30, 2020 | Fortune
It was an insult to the public as well, and a sad example of the state of American democracy five weeks before the election.
Election live updates: Debate commission says it will change structure to ensure more ‘orderly discussion’ | John Wagner, Felicia Sonmez, Amy B Wang | September 30, 2020 | Washington Post
It wasn’t the insults or shouting that put the markets into a risk-off mood.
Global investors dump stocks as presidential debate fireworks escalate election jitters | Bernhard Warner | September 30, 2020 | Fortune
“Streamlining,” wrote Technical Editor Kevin Cameron in a February, 2002, piece about the star of the 2001 Tokyo Show, “would just be an insult to the air-crushing power of the supercharged engine.”
22 of the weirdest concept motorcycles ever made | By John Burns/Cycle World | September 10, 2020 | Popular-Science
Adding insult to injury, my coworkers and I were offered only a pittance of severance to tide us over through this incredible time of uncertainty.
Why the Democratic Party must make a clean break with Wall Street | matthewheimer | September 8, 2020 | Fortune

It was like a constant assault, an almost stupefying catalogue of mindless racial insult and injury.
How Martin Luther King Jr. Influenced Sam Cooke’s ‘A Change Is Gonna Come’ | Peter Guralnick | December 28, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
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 | THE 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 | THE DAILY BEAST
To add insult to injury, he procured male escorts while traveling for school business.
Headmasters Behaving Badly | Emily Shire | November 29, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Watching novelists insult one another is one of the primary pleasures of his biography.
The Birth of the Novel | Nick Romeo | November 27, 2014 | THE DAILY BEAST
Yet how came it that even a low-caste mongrel of a Lascar should offer such an overt insult to a Brahmin!
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
He passed to and fro in the city without the least insult being offered him by any Spaniard.
The Philippine Islands | John Foreman
insult and outrage seemed to have given that bodily vigour to Ripperda, which medicine and surgery had taken no pains to restore.
The Pastor's Fire-side Vol. 3 of 4 | Jane Porter
He was determined to have it, if only because no greater insult can be inflicted on a Mohammedan than to bare his head.
The Red Year | Louis Tracy
This provided for, I will protect myself from future insult, depend upon it.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. CCCXXXIX. January, 1844. Vol. LV. | Various

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 affront: some television is an insult to intelligence

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

Origin of insult

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

Derived forms of insult

insulter, noun

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

Other Idioms and Phrases with insult

insult

see add insult to injury.

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