insult
insult Lexical Profile
insult Game Scores & Validity
• noun
A disrespectful or scornfully abusive remark or action directed at someone or something.
"She calmly ignored the rude remark and refused to let the insult derail the meeting."
In medicine, an event, substance, or agent that causes physical damage or trauma to a tissue or organ.
"The kidneys can recover rapidly from a mild ischemic insult if normal blood flow is restored promptly."
• verb
To speak to or treat someone with disrespect, scorn, or offensive rudeness.
"He did not mean to insult the host when he politely declined the second helping of dessert."
Word Nuance & Usage
'Insult' is a heteronym whose pronunciation shifts with its part of speech: as a noun, the stress falls on the first syllable (IN-sult), whereas as a verb, the stress falls on the second syllable (in-SULT).
• Nearby Words
Word Origin & Etymology
Borrowed in the mid-16th century from Middle French or directly from Latin insultare, meaning 'to leap upon' or 'to scoff at,' formed from the prefix in- ('upon') and saltare, the frequentative form of salire ('to leap').