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- parts of speech:
- transitive verb, noun
- features:
- Word Combinations (verb, noun), Word History, Word Explorer
| part of speech: |
transitive verb |
| pronunciation: |
ihn
suhlt
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| inflections: |
insults, insulting, insulted |
| definition 1: |
to offend by speaking to or treating rudely or contemptuously.
They insulted us with their snide comments about our home.- synonyms:
- affront, cut
- antonyms:
- adulate, compliment, flatter
- similar words:
- abuse, deride, dishonor, disparage, humiliate, jeer at, offend, put down, slight, slur, snub, taunt
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| definition 2: |
to show a lack of respect for.
The play insulted their sense of propriety.- synonyms:
- offend
- antonyms:
- honor
- similar words:
- affront, assail, disgust, transgress, violate
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| related words: |
attack, flout, miff, molest, outrage, patronize, retort, revile, scant, wound, wrong |
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| part of speech: |
noun |
| pronunciation: |
In
suhlt
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| definition 1: |
an attack or offensive remark or behavior, or something that has the effect of such a remark or behavior.
The two sides hurled insults at each other.She viewed the question as an insult to her intelligence.Their refusal to accept his gift was an insult that he could not forgive.- synonyms:
- affront, barb, contumely, indignity
- antonyms:
- compliment
- similar words:
- aspersion, calumny, cut, dig, gibe, impertinence, insolence, invective, jeer, offense, profanity, put-down, rub, slight, slur, snub, wound
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| definition 2: |
in medicine, a trauma or injury.
The patient suffered an insult to the right side of his brain.- synonyms:
- injury, trauma
- similar words:
- wound
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| related words: |
abuse, disfavor, dishonor, mockery |
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| derivations: |
insultingly (adv.), insulter (n.) |
Insult comes from a Latin word that means "to leap at" or leap upon." By the 1600s, it had come to mean "to treat with scorn and abuse." Today, an insult is an assault that uses words, not the body.
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