as in sarcasms
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
panelists on that political talk show simply exchange insults, not ideas
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in offends
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in
insulted their hosts by casually remarking about the outdated look of their home
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of insults
Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
The president lobbed insults at the Fed chair and the two clashed over the budget for a multibillion-dollar renovation project at the Fed's Washington headquarters.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 15 June 2026
Candidates also say the interim mayor must return order to meetings, which have become increasingly discordant as the public interrupts proceedings and occasionally hurls pointed insults at council members.
—Charlotte Observer, 15 June 2026
Fans fought in the streets, heaved bottles, smashed windows and shouted filthy insults in the melee, which left nearly 50 people injured.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 15 June 2026
The former first lady and her husband, former president Barack Obama, have frequently been the targets of racist insults.
—Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 15 June 2026
Many of these terms were meant as insults and were – and remain today – tremendously rude, but others reflect the bewilderment of trying to categorize people who don’t fit into standard categories easily.
—Ky Merkley, The Conversation, 15 June 2026
The very notion insults stupid.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
They are peppered with falsehoods, misrepresentations, insults, praise, self-promotion and erratic capitalizations.
—New York Times, 11 June 2026
ABC News, 29 Apr. 2026
Saariaho never once loses control of momentum and never insults her own tastefulness.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
As the President insults allies, woos dictators, and spurns long-standing commitments, Rubio has to convince his counterparts that America will not entirely abandon its friends.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The paddling comes as revenge for multiple times Marty insults the businessman throughout the movie.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.
—Rhett Bartlett, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi insults Democrats in Senate hearing.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
In the case of Governor Pritzker insults his body, body shamed him.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
No matter how many times Putin insults the president and ignores his calls for a total ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump returns for more humiliation.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
The adversaries made for a striking scene, exchanging insults in mutually unintelligible languages in the dead of night.
—Literary Hub, 16 June 2026
The president lobbed insults at the Fed chair and the two clashed over the budget for a multibillion-dollar renovation project at the Fed's Washington headquarters.
—Rachel Barber, USA Today, 15 June 2026
Candidates also say the interim mayor must return order to meetings, which have become increasingly discordant as the public interrupts proceedings and occasionally hurls pointed insults at council members.
—Charlotte Observer, 15 June 2026
Fans fought in the streets, heaved bottles, smashed windows and shouted filthy insults in the melee, which left nearly 50 people injured.
—Aj Willingham, AJC.com, 15 June 2026
The former first lady and her husband, former president Barack Obama, have frequently been the targets of racist insults.
—Amy B Wang, Washington Post, 15 June 2026
Many of these terms were meant as insults and were – and remain today – tremendously rude, but others reflect the bewilderment of trying to categorize people who don’t fit into standard categories easily.
—Ky Merkley, The Conversation, 15 June 2026
The very notion insults stupid.
—John Tamny, Forbes.com, 14 June 2026
They are peppered with falsehoods, misrepresentations, insults, praise, self-promotion and erratic capitalizations.
—New York Times, 11 June 2026
Verb
Ohm quickly insults nearly every employee at this small hotel within moments of meeting them, except for the young, pretty bartender, Fiona (Florence Ordesh).
—ABC News, 29 Apr. 2026
Saariaho never once loses control of momentum and never insults her own tastefulness.
—Justin Davidson, Vulture, 7 Apr. 2026
As the President insults allies, woos dictators, and spurns long-standing commitments, Rubio has to convince his counterparts that America will not entirely abandon its friends.
—Dexter Filkins, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
The paddling comes as revenge for multiple times Marty insults the businessman throughout the movie.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.
—Rhett Bartlett, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi insults Democrats in Senate hearing.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
In the case of Governor Pritzker insults his body, body shamed him.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
No matter how many times Putin insults the president and ignores his calls for a total ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump returns for more humiliation.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for insults
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
Verb
-
Tastes have changed, and honestly what offends people has changed so much now.—
Britt Hayes,
Entertainment Weekly,
17 June 2026
-
But these arguments, about how free expression is defined, whether art that offends is inherently harmful, and whose sensibilities determine what art gets shown to the public, would recur again and again.—
Isaac Butler,
New Yorker,
30 May 2026
Noun
-
Look, of the outrages, these are like the least among them, as far as being upset with the administration, with the president.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
14 June 2026
-
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
Verb
-
In the final episode of the season, Max taunts Pip on her way to Stanley’s funeral as his companion, a young blonde, laughs and drinks wine.—
Nicole Briese,
PEOPLE,
28 May 2026
-
Newsom taunts Trump with multiple jabs as Florida redistricting fight ramps up.—
,
FOXNews.com,
28 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The family members either submitted to the indignities—the false testimony, the obscene bullet fees—or were asked for bribes as high as $7,000 to avoid consigning their relatives to mass graves.—
Laura Secor,
The Atlantic,
16 June 2026
-
The remedy is finding laughter amongst the indignities.—
Stephen Rodrick,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2026
Verb
-
Chops, gouges, wounds it like the shadow grooves on the sidewalks—the sun is setting earlier.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
16 Mar. 2026
-
Imperfect fleshly reality occupies the stage, the region where bones crack and wounds suppurate, schlumpy humans fall for each other, and jealousy roams murderously free.—
Justin Davidson,
Vulture,
11 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The Chawla said multiple campaign road signs were vandalized with racial epithets in two separate incidents.—
Carlos E. Castañeda,
CBS News,
18 May 2026
-
His nanny was his fierce protector and insulated him from the depredations of Nazis and their enablers, baptizing him and teaching him to handily hurl anti-Jewish epithets to fit in.—
Ron Kampeas,
Sun Sentinel,
11 May 2026
Noun
-
The tenacious ex–Special Forces vet can be found tracking killers and trading barbs with his partner Jerry (Jamie Hector) in this long-running series drawn from Michael Connelly’s crime novels.—
Matt Cabral,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 June 2026
-
And in his second term, the leaders now openly trade barbs, disagreeing over tariffs, Ukraine and the Iran war.—
Darlene Superville,
Los Angeles Times,
12 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Insults.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insults. Accessed 21 Jun. 2026.
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