insult
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in·sult (in sult′; for n. in′sult′)
transitive verb
- 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
- Obsolete to attack; assail
Etymology: MFr insulter < L insultare, to leap upon, scoff at, insult < in-, in, on + saltare, freq. of salire, to leap: see salient
intransitive verb
noun
- an insulting act, remark, etc.; affront; indignity
- Archaic an attack; assault
- Med.
- damage or injury to tissues or organs of the body
- anything that causes this
Related Forms:
- insulter in·sult′er noun
- insulting in·sult′·ing adjective
- insultingly in·sult′·ingly adverb
Webster's New World College Dictionary Copyright © 2005 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Alternate definitions:
insult
n.
insult
v.
Insulting remarks include: nuts, nerts, says you, go jump in the lake, in my eye, don't make me laugh, shut your face, shut up, so's your old man, you're crazy, baloney, bull, nuts to you, in a pig's eye, up yours, horse manure, tell it to the marines, my foot, my eye, does your mother know you're out?, another country heard from, drop dead, stuff it, stick it, read my lips, go suck eggs, go to hell, go pound salt, go pound sand, stick it where the sun don't shine, stick it in your ear, you know where you can stick it.
Antonyms
Webster's New World Roget's A-Z Thesaurus Copyright © 1999 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio.
Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Object
- prophet: Scores waved placards bearing angry messages, one declaring: " Behead the one who insults the prophet " .
Converse of object
- hurl: May you find the response to an insult hurled at you in a dispute.
Adjective modifier
- gratuitous: The audience, carefully selected to be hostile, offered a series of gratuitous insults to the Prime Minister.
Modifying Another Word
- personally: Is Ken Livingstone going to personally insult all 55 Ambassadors and their countries?
Noun used with modifier
- trading: By now Alan, Gordon and Virgil were indulging in a round of pushing and shoving each other whilst trading insults.
The word usage examples above have been gathered from various sources to reflect current and historical usage. They do not represent the opinions of YourDictionary.com.
It is all too rare today to hear the clear, clean ring of a really original insult.
An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.
Music with dinner is an insult both to the cook and the violinist.
Webster's New World Dictionary of Quotations Copyright © 2005 by Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Published by Wiley, Hoboken, NJ. Used by arrangement with John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
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MLA Style
"insult." Webster's New World College Dictionary. 2009
- Your Dictionary. 4 July 2009
- <www.yourdictionary.com/insult>
APA Style
insult. (2009). In Webster's New World College Dictionary
- Retrieved July 4th, 2009, from www.yourdictionary.com/insult

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