insulting

1 of 2

adjective

in·​sult·​ing in-ˈsəl-tiŋ 

: giving or intended to give offense : being or containing an insult (see insult entry 2 sense 1)

Without the wit, of course, such sentiments would be construed as deeply insulting …

—The American Scholar

… pasted insulting bumper stickers on their vehicles …

—James A. Michener

… considered the proposal so impracticable as to be insulting.

—Alice Adams

The book is "dumbed down" to an almost insulting level.

—Joel Bangilan

insultingly

in-ˈsəl-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

But always his triumphs are the triumphs of a highly sensitive man: a man must feel insults before he can so insultingly and splendidly avenge them.

—G. K. Chesterton

He is a gifted preacher, fashioning sermons that are neither inaccessibly erudite nor insultingly shallow.

—Kevin Sack

insulting

2 of 2

present participle of insult entry 1

Examples of insulting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

Considering there were only 33 appearances this past season, such Heat prudence hardly could be viewed as insulting. —Ira Winderman, Sun Sentinel, 20 June 2026

What Florence has been doing is consistent and insulting. —Jeanne Phillips, Mercury News, 19 June 2026

Pretending otherwise is insulting. —Micha Hershman, Forbes.com, 18 June 2026

But to compare them with Thomas Jefferson or American soldiers storming the beaches of Normandy is absurd and more than a little insulting. —Culture Critic, Los Angeles Times, 15 June 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for insulting

• consulting
• exulting
• resulting