Word forms: plural, 3rd person singular presenttense insults, present participle insulting, past tense, past participle insultedpronunciation note: The verb is pronounced (ɪnsʌlt). The noun is pronounced (ɪnsʌlt).
1. verb
If someone insults you, they say or do something that is rude or offensive.
I did not mean to insult you. [VERB noun]
Buchanan said he was insulted by the judge's remarks. [VERB noun]
Synonyms: offend, abuse, injure, wound More Synonyms of insult
insultedadjective [usually verb-link ADJECTIVE]
I would be a bit insulted if he said anything like that.
2. countable noun
An insult is a rude remark, or something a person says or does which insults you.
Their behaviour was an insult to the people they represent. [+ to]
The prison Governor criticised some of his officers who shouted insults at prisonerson the roof.
Synonyms: offence, slight, outrage, snub More Synonyms of insult
3.
See to add insult to injury
More Synonyms of insult
insult in British English
verb (ɪnˈsʌlt)(transitive)
1.
to treat, mention, or speak to rudely; offend; affront
2. obsolete
to assault; attack
noun (ˈɪnsʌlt)
3.
an offensive or contemptuous remark or action; affront; slight
4.
a person or thing producing the effect of an affront
some television is an insult to intelligence
5. medicine
an injury or trauma
6. add insult to injury
Derived forms
insulter (inˈsulter)
noun
Word origin
C16: from Latin insultāre to jump upon, from in-2 + saltāre to jump
insult in American English
(ɪnˈsʌlt; for n. ˈɪnˌsʌlt)
verb transitive
1.
to treat or speak to with scorn, insolence, or great disrespect; subject to treatment, a remark, etc. that hurts or is meant to hurt the feelings or pride
2. Obsolete
to attack; assail
verb intransitive
3. Archaic
to behave arrogantly
noun
4.
an insulting act, remark, etc.; affront; indignity
5. Archaic
an attack; assault
6. Medicine
a.
damage or injury to tissues or organs of the body
b.
anything that causes this
SIMILAR WORDS: ofˈfend
Derived forms
insulter (inˈsulter)
noun
insulting (inˈsulting)
adjective
insultingly (inˈsultingly)
adverb
Word origin
MFr insulter < L insultare, to leap upon, scoff at, insult < in-, in, on + saltare, freq. of salire, to leap: see salient
More idioms containing
insult
add insult to injury
Examples of 'insult' in a sentence
insult
Beyond a certain point such platitudes insults voters' intelligence.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Do not insult our intelligence.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
A recent experiment asked prisoners to hurl his insults at guards, to help them express themselves and empower them.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
It added:'Our members have the right to do their job in an environment free of unjustified and insulting attacks.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I watched as the militias picked out their victims, swearing at them, insulting their mothers and hurling sectarian insults.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
You would not expect people to insult you on the way to the train.
The Sun (2015)
What a grotesque and ridiculous insult to our intelligence services.
The Sun (2016)
It is no insult to say that she does not write like an academic.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
Two men were arrested for insulting behaviour after the flowers were set alight.
The Sun (2010)
An engineer was heard to mutter something insulting.
The Times Literary Supplement (2010)
He was evidently not offended by the insult directed toward his friend.
George Eliot Daniel Deronda (1876)
What adds insult to injury is the fact that absolute return funds are basically pretty useless.
Times, Sunday Times (2010)
It would have been the final insult if he got what he wanted.
The Sun (2013)
What an insult to people struggling to make ends meet.
The Sun (2008)
This is an insult to our intelligence.
The Sun (2014)
And then because of the injustice he felt over a booking that added insult to injury.
The Sun (2012)
It is a a final insult to the families of the true victims.
The Sun (2014)
Thousands of other disabled people are routinely insulted in public.
The Sun (2011)
The whole thing was an insult to the intelligence.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
It seems clear that he can understand these feelings and not experience them as an insult or an attack.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
It is not meant as an insult to say that he does not think about what he is doing.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
Each took a lead from the behaviour of his peers and soon it became open season for hurling insults at the royals.
Deborah Cadbury THE LOST KING OF FRANCE: Revolution, Revenge and the Search for Louis XVII (2002)
You had to be fun, insult him a bit.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
That's a bit of an insult.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
Avoid insulting or attacking them.
Bachmann, Susan (editor) & Barth, Melinda Between Worlds: A Reader, Rhetoric and Handbook (1995)
It is not an insult to say that he was not the man most spectators were cheering for as the Open reached its climax yesterday.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
Quotations
This is adding insult to injuriesEdward MooreThe Foundling
In other languages
insult
British English: insult /ˈɪnsʌlt/ NOUN
An insult is a rude remark or action which offends someone.
They shouted insults at each other.
American English: insult
Arabic: إِهَانَةٌ
Brazilian Portuguese: insulto
Chinese: 侮辱
Croatian: uvreda
Czech: urážka
Danish: fornærmelse
Dutch: belediging
European Spanish: insulto
Finnish: loukkaus
French: insulte
German: Beleidigung
Greek: προσβολή
Italian: offesa
Japanese: 侮辱
Korean: 모욕
Norwegian: fornærmelse
Polish: obraza
European Portuguese: insulto
Romanian: insultă
Russian: оскорбление
Latin American Spanish: insulto
Swedish: förolämpning
Thai: การดูถูก
Turkish: hakaret
Ukrainian: образа
Vietnamese: sự lăng mạ
British English: insult /ɪnˈsʌlt/ VERB
If you insult someone, you offend them by being rude to them.
I did not mean to insult you.
American English: insult
Arabic: يَهِيـنُ
Brazilian Portuguese: insultar
Chinese: 侮辱
Croatian: uvrijediti
Czech: urazit hrubě se dotknout
Danish: fornærme
Dutch: beledigen
European Spanish: insultar
Finnish: loukata
French: insulter
German: beleidigen
Greek: προσβάλλω
Italian: offendere
Japanese: 侮辱する
Korean: 모욕하다
Norwegian: fornærme
Polish: obrazić
European Portuguese: insultar
Romanian: a insulta
Russian: оскорблять
Latin American Spanish: insultar
Swedish: förolämpa
Thai: ดูถูก
Turkish: hakaret etmek
Ukrainian: ображати
Vietnamese: lăng mạ
Chinese translation of 'insult'
insult
(nˈɪnsʌlt; vbɪnˈsʌlt)
n(c)
侮辱 (wǔrǔ) (个(個), gè)
vt
侮辱 (wǔrǔ)
to be an insult to sth对(對)某物的亵(褻)渎(瀆) (duì mǒuwù de xièdú)
to add insult to injury雪上加霜 (xuě shàng jiā shuāng)
(verb)
Definition
to treat or speak to rudely
I didn't mean to insult you.
Synonyms
offend
I had no intention of offending the community.
abuse
He alleged that he was verbally abused by other soldiers.
injure
wound
slight
They felt slighted by not being adequately consulted.
outrage
Many people have been outraged by these comments.
put down
humiliate
libel
The newspaper which libelled him had already offered him compensation.
snub
He snubbed her in public and made her feel an idiot.
slag (off) (slang)
malign
We maligned him dreadfully, assuming the very worst about him.
affront
One example that particularly affronted him was at the world championships.
denigrate
We habitually denigrated our boss in his absence.
disparage
his tendency to disparage literature
revile
What right had the crowd to revile them?
slander
He has been questioned on suspicion of slandering the politician.
displease
defame
He complained that the article defamed him.
hurt (someone's) feelings
call names
give offence to
miscall (dialect)
Opposites
praise
,
flatter
,
big up (slang, mainly Caribbean)
1 (noun)
Definition
an offensive remark or action
Some of the officers shouted insults at prisoners on the roof.
Synonyms
jibe
slight
put-down
She was getting very sick of his put-downs.
abuse
snub
He took it as a snub.
barb
The barb stung her exactly the way he hoped it would.
affront
indignity
He suffered the indignity of having to face angry protesters.
contumely
abusive remark
aspersion
2 (noun)
Definition
a person or thing producing the effect of an insult
Their behaviour was an insult to the people they represented.
Synonyms
offence
Your behaviour is an offence to your hosts.
slight
a child weeping over an imagined slight
outrage
snub
slur
yet another slur on the integrity of the police
affront
She has taken my enquiry as a personal affront.
rudeness
slap in the face (informal)
kick in the teeth (informal)
insolence
aspersion
Opposites
compliment,
flattery
,
honour
Quotation
This is adding insult to injuries [Edward Moore – The Foundling]
Additional synonyms
in the sense of abuse
Definition
to speak insultingly or cruelly to
He alleged that he was verbally abused by other soldiers.
Synonyms
insult,
injure,
offend,
curse,
put down,
smear,
libel,
slate (informal, British),
slag (off) (slang),
malign,
scold,
swear at,
disparage,
castigate,
revile,
vilify,
slander,
diss (slang),
defame,
upbraid,
slight,
flame (informal),
inveigh against,
call names,
traduce (formal),
calumniate,
vituperate
in the sense of affront
Definition
to hurt someone's pride or dignity
One example that particularly affronted him was at the world championships.