as in offending
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in
insulted their hosts by casually remarking about the outdated look of their home
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in offensive
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insulting
Helen Regan, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
The fourth-year coach is having none of it, dismissing outside opinions as irrelevant and insulting.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2025
Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Posts garnered thousands of replies from people calling for her job, insulting her appearance and using her post as a reason for a general disdain of left-leaning people.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insulting
Verb
Those found guilty of criticizing, insulting, defaming or threatening the king, queen, or heir apparent can be jailed for between three and 15 years for each count, with some sentences stretching to 50 years.
—Helen Regan, CNN Money, 21 Aug. 2025
The fourth-year coach is having none of it, dismissing outside opinions as irrelevant and insulting.
—Edgar Thompson, The Orlando Sentinel, 20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
Patrick doesn’t waste time insulting Ellen about her relationship with Edward, never mind that, as Ellen points out, Edward’s the reason Patrick’s a free man.
—Keith Phipps, Vulture, 26 Sep. 2025
Posts garnered thousands of replies from people calling for her job, insulting her appearance and using her post as a reason for a general disdain of left-leaning people.
—Cate Charron, IndyStar, 22 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for insulting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insulting
Verb
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Is the streamer afraid of offending hate groups by depicting them as hateful and/or groups?—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
24 Sep. 2025
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In New Zealand, murder carries a mandatory life sentence and judges are required to set a prison term of at least 10 years before the offending person can apply for parole, according to the outlet.—
Gabrielle Rockson,
PEOPLE,
23 Sep. 2025
Adjective
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The Seahawks rank 10th in offensive EPA/play and sixth in defensive success rate.—
Austin Mock,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
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Taking over for Brady after his retirement following the 2022 season, was Mayfield, who is off to the best start of his NFL career through six games even while managing without several key offensive weapons.—
Cole Sullivan,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Coen himself fretted a little over some of the script’s more outrageous moments.—
Luna Adler,
Vogue,
13 Oct. 2025
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From lost season to lockdown closer, an outrageous development punctuated by Sasaki breezing through three perfect innings in Game 4 of the NLDS.—
Stephen J. Nesbitt,
New York Times,
12 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Upon further review, Bears defensive back Tyrique Stevenson could be seen taunting the crowd as the play started, mere seconds before Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels completed the 52-yard touchdown to get his team the win.—
Gabe Smallson,
MSNBC Newsweek,
13 Oct. 2025
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These included letters from BTK himself, taunting police on being unable to catch him.—
CT Jones,
Rolling Stone,
11 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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Growing up, Amy claims her father, Terry Jordan, was emotionally abusive towards her and her mother and as a result, Deanna was not able to fully commit herself to parenting.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
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Greater transparency in pet purchases will bring to light abusive practices that take advantage of pets in order to exploit hopeful pet owners.—
Martha McHardy,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The situation unfolded earlier this week when TikToker Bookie Woodz posted a now-controversial clip, accusing Ayesha of craving male attention and subtly disrespecting her husband in the process.—
Preezy Brown,
VIBE.com,
18 Sep. 2025
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The caller berated Dipoto for disrespecting his uniform number.—
Tyler Kepner,
New York Times,
20 Aug. 2025
Adjective
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In the years intervening, the poem has remained a lodestar, a contravening presence when, in present day America’s vituperative political landscape, the humanities disciplines and higher education itself has been forced to invoke and defend its own authority.—
Elaine L. Wang
September 11,
Literary Hub,
11 Sep. 2025
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Even the company’s most vituperative detractors acknowledge its engineering genius and applaud its success in driving down launch expenses (unlike many defense contractors, SpaceX largely eats the cost of its failures).—
Franklin Foer,
The Atlantic,
28 July 2025
Adjective
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In the Hulu version of the story, Clarke plays Alex, a middle-aged lawyer stealing money from his clients and funneling it into an opioid addiction and, the series implies, other scurrilous crimes.—
Kelly Lawler,
USA Today,
13 Oct. 2025
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The justices who renounced that lie in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Center exposed themselves to scurrilous criticisms and even threats to their safety.—
The Editors,
National Review,
24 June 2025
Cite this Entry
“Insulting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insulting. Accessed 19 Oct. 2025.
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