insulted; insulting; insults
: to treat with insolence, indignity, or contempt : affront
also
: to affect offensively or damagingly
doggerel that insults the reader's intelligence
archaic
: to behave with pride or arrogance : vaunt
insulter
noun
1
: a gross indignity : an instance of insolent or contemptuous speech or conduct
2
: injury to the body or one of its parts
also
: something that causes or has a potential for causing such injury
pollution and other environmental insults
Examples of insult in a Sentence
Verb
She felt they had insulted her by repeatedly ignoring her questions.
We were greatly insulted by his rudeness.
They're understandably insulted when no one asks for their opinion on a matter that affects them so much.
Noun
The fans hurled insults at the referee as he walked off the field after the game.
Their decision to cancel the project was an insult to all my hard work.
They got into a fight over a minor insult.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jocelyn Noveck, Boston Herald, 9 May 2025
Later, the man Husk is chasing, Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), follows him to a hunting ground and insults Husk’s chain-smoking, suggesting his smell keeps the elk away.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 May 2025
Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 May 2025
People hurled insults as the police started taking down the barricades.
—Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for insult
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Verb
On a trip into town, Lucas gets into a scuffle with another boy who’s insulting their late mother, hurting him.
—Jocelyn Noveck, Boston Herald, 9 May 2025
Later, the man Husk is chasing, Bob Mathews (Nicholas Hoult), follows him to a hunting ground and insults Husk’s chain-smoking, suggesting his smell keeps the elk away.
—Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 8 May 2025
Noun
Sarandos, playing a cheeky version of himself, delivers a sharp line about contractual award show shout-outs before signing off with an insult.
—Clayton Davis, Variety, 7 May 2025
People hurled insults as the police started taking down the barricades.
—Carolyn Komatsoulis, Idaho Statesman, 7 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for insult
Cite this Entry
“Insult.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insult. Accessed 20 May. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
insult
2 of 2 noun
in·sult
ˈin-ˌsəlt 
: an act or expression showing disrespect or scorn
Etymology
Verb
from early French insulter "to insult," from Latin insultare "to insult, attack," literally "to leap upon," derived from in- "on, upon" and salire "to leap, spring" — related to assault, resilient
Word Origin
The phrase "to jump on" is used informally today to mean "to criticize or insult severely." The origin of the word insult also suggests the idea of jumping. Insult comes from the Latin verb insultare, literally meaning "to leap upon." It is made up of the prefix in-, meaning "on, upon," and a form of the verb salire "to leap." One of the first meanings of insult in English was "to make a military attack." That sense became obsolete, and insult now means to attack or "jump on" someone only with words of scorn or disrespect rather than with weapons.
Medical Definition
insult
noun
in·sult
ˈin-ˌsəlt
1
: injury to the body or one of its parts
repeated acute vascular insults
any insult to the constitution of a patient suffering from active tuberculosis—The Journal of the American Medical Association
The Journal of the American Medical Association2
: something that causes or has a potential for causing insult to the body
damage resulting from malnutritional insults
insult
verb
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