insulting 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of insultingnext
as in offensive

Related Words

Relevance

Dissimilar Words

insulting

2 of 2

verb

present participle of insult
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to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in insulted their hosts by casually remarking about the outdated look of their home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

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of insulting
Adjective
This struck Stevens and her allies as immature, insulting, and more than a little sexist. — David Weigel, semafor.com, 5 Aug. 2026 The target of the anger and scorn in all the insulting posters, slogans, and graffiti of the protest zone was not the education minister but Modi himself. — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026
Verb
Platner also apologized for old online comments that included insulting language about women, police and rural residents. — ABC News, 2 Sep. 2026 The remade writers room (adding six characters to the large cast) is generationally split and spends most of its time arguing and insulting one another. — Robert Lloyd, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2026 See All Example Sentences for insulting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insulting
  1. offensive
  2. offending
  3. outrageous
  4. outraging
  5. abusive
  6. taunting
  7. vituperative
  8. disrespecting
Adjective
  • That expands the number of platforms capable of employing the system during defensive or offensive operations.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 2 Oct. 2026
  • The offensive line sort of got decimated, and now the cornerbacks have gotten decimated.
    — Scott Fowler, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of offensive
Verb
  • The danger here is not just offending the sensibilities of a group that the marketing team had not considered, but also that group sharing their offense with friends and relatives in their countries of origin.
    — Ivan Doruda, Forbes.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • For that, their game — analyzing randomness and violence and doing so without offending our intelligence — has become as important to the American audience as The Game.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 11 Sep. 2026
Definition of offending
Adjective
  • Jay cites the scene in which Tommy DeVito (played by Joe Pesci) threatens Billy Batts (Frank Vincent) with increasingly outrageous acts of violence, turning the mobster’s menace into dark comedy.
    — John Kennedy, VIBE.com, 30 Sep. 2026
  • SpaceX thinks this recovery strategy will enable fast and efficient reuse, allowing the company to achieve seemingly outrageous launch cadences.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of outrageous
Verb
  • The Hitlerite hordes are murdering and outraging the peaceful inhabitants of our country, having no mercy on women, children or old people.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 12 Aug. 2026
  • On Day 1 of the truce, and in the days since, Israel has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, in Lebanon, outraging Iran and leading to accusations the terms had been breached.
    — Justin Fishel, ABC News, 10 Apr. 2026
Definition of outraging
Adjective
  • Livia’s sister-in-law invokes the poem when Livia learns, to her surprise, that her manipulative, abusive mother had been a frustrated musician.
    — Sam Worley, Vulture, 5 Oct. 2026
  • Rating sites filled up with one-star scores, and the social media accounts of cast members drew abusive comments.
    — Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of abusive
Verb
  • After jawing with Oregon players, the junior linebacker was seen taunting the Oregon sideline and celebrating on his way back to USC’s side of the field.
    — Ryan Kartje, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Afroman went on to publish songs and music videos taunting the deputies, including one called Lemon Pound Cake that mocked the portly deputy for his apparent interest in the cake.
    — Andrew Graham, Sacbee.com, 22 Sep. 2026
Definition of taunting
Adjective
  • In Maine, Graham Platner — who, like Avila Chevalier, had a vituperative social media history — easily defeated the state’s governor, Janet Mills, for the Senate nomination.
    — Michelle Goldberg, Mercury News, 27 June 2026
  • The Irish comedy writer has become better known for his assertion that trans women are men and criticism of trans activism, expressed in often vituperative social media posts.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 1 May 2026
Definition of vituperative
Verb
  • Oakley and Dolan have long feuded, with Oakley accusing Dolan of treating him less favorably than other Knicks legends, including by not providing him complimentary tickets and allegedly disrespecting him in other ways.
    — Michael McCann, Sportico.com, 15 Aug. 2026
  • The leak itself received a mountain of backlash from industry professionals, animators and others for disrespecting the years of work put into crafting the film.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of disrespecting

Browse Nearby Words

insulters
insulting
insults
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Insulting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insulting. Accessed 8 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of etiquette

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

The Words of the Week - Oct. 9

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)
See More

Popular

See More

Do You Need a New Language Peeve?

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
name tags
Words Named After People Quiz Find out who’s behind "leotard," "morphine," an...
See All