as in insults
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
took it as an affront that she wasn't invited to say a few words at the ribbon-cutting ceremony
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in offends
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in
did not mean to affront you when I told you I didn't need your help
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of affronts
Ben Travers, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, some on Wall Street continue to warn of complacency in financial markets amid affronts to the Fed’s independence, persistent nerves about a bubble and increasingly fraught geopolitics.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Shaban’s chief response to this and other affronts is silence.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
And those affronts to standard Hollywood operating procedure threaten millions of jobs across the industry.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Bukele, after a disastrous month for his image, was not willing to tolerate any more affronts.
—Óscar Martínez & Carlos Martínez, The Dial, 16 Sep. 2025
These constituencies view the sanctions and the tariffs as otherwise legal instruments weaponized for geopolitical purposes—and as direct affronts to Brazil’s democratic integrity.
—Hussein Kalout, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
Noun
Any tension between them, though, stems from personal affronts, while their ideological differences exist as a largely unremarked upon undercurrent.
—Ben Travers, IndieWire, 25 Mar. 2026
Meanwhile, some on Wall Street continue to warn of complacency in financial markets amid affronts to the Fed’s independence, persistent nerves about a bubble and increasingly fraught geopolitics.
—John Towfighi, CNN Money, 6 Feb. 2026
Shaban’s chief response to this and other affronts is silence.
—Sheri Linden, HollywoodReporter, 30 Jan. 2026
And those affronts to standard Hollywood operating procedure threaten millions of jobs across the industry.
—Chris Lee, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
Bukele, after a disastrous month for his image, was not willing to tolerate any more affronts.
—Óscar Martínez & Carlos Martínez, The Dial, 16 Sep. 2025
These constituencies view the sanctions and the tariffs as otherwise legal instruments weaponized for geopolitical purposes—and as direct affronts to Brazil’s democratic integrity.
—Hussein Kalout, Foreign Affairs, 2 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affronts
Noun
-
There are comic insults and lines of great beauty.—
Christopher Arnott,
Hartford Courant,
21 Apr. 2026
-
But instead of paving the way for some good ol’ fashioned infidelity, the liquid courage causes the women to turn on each other, with the evening devolving into inebriated insults and recriminations.—
Brent Lang,
Variety,
20 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Obviously the blandness of a tan wall offends them.—
Joan Morris,
Mercury News,
9 Mar. 2026
-
If that language offends you — come on.—
Ryan Coleman,
Entertainment Weekly,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
More recently, Tandy Hills experienced issues with ATVs being driven through the park and damaging wildflowers, sparking outrages on social media from people who demanded the city take action.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
25 Mar. 2026
-
As has always been the case in my life, my main way of responding to political outrages is through writing and reading.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
28 Jan. 2026
Noun
-
First seen at a night-club table of menacing lowlifes, Ida, whose mother tongue is Brooklynese, suddenly switches to a heavy British accent and dispenses a torrent of highly literary sarcasms.—
Richard Brody,
New Yorker,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
These were among the thousand or so individual indignities visited upon the Walt Disney Company’s workforce this week.—
Eric Vilas-Boas,
Vulture,
20 Apr. 2026
-
Her indignities are nothing compared with Nightingale’s.—
Patt Morrison,
Los Angeles Times,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Affronts.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affronts. Accessed 26 Apr. 2026.
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