insult

noun

(uncountable) Action or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude; (countable) a particular act or statement having this effect.

(countable) Something that causes offence (for example, by being of an unacceptable quality).

(countable, uncountable, medicine) Something causing disease or injury to the body or bodily processes; the injury so caused.

(countable, also figuratively, archaic) An assault or attack; (specifically, military, obsolete) an assault, attack, or onset carried out without preparation.

(countable, obsolete) An act of leaping upon.

verb

(transitive) To be insensitive, insolent, or rude to (somebody); to affront or demean (someone).

(transitive, also figuratively, obsolete) To assail, assault, or attack; (specifically, military) to carry out an assault, attack, or onset without preparation.

(intransitive, obsolete) To behave in an obnoxious and superior manner (against or over someone).

(intransitive, obsolete, rare) To leap or trample upon.

Roots

salio-sult · Latin · leap

Synonyms & related words for insult

Find synonyms, related words, and the definition of insult — including affront, contumely, abuse, offend, scurrility, indignity. Dendril is a free visual thesaurus that shows them on an interactive map where stronger matches sit closer to the center — no signup, no ads.

Words related to insult

Explore words related to insult — words associated with it, words that go with it, and its nearest matches in meaning. Related words include revilement, vilification, disrespect, belittling, belittlement, demean, denigration, revile. Click any word to make it the center of the map and keep exploring the web of connections.

Synonyms for insult

Common synonyms for insult include affront, contumely, abuse, offend, scurrility, indignity, humiliate, taunt — words that share a close meaning. Hover or tap any word on the map for its definition and part of speech.

Where does insult come from?

The word insult breaks down into one root of Latin origin: the root -sult, from Latin salio (“leap”). Explore each root to see other English words built from the same source.