insult
Definition from Wiktionary, the free dictionary
Contents |
[edit] English
[edit] Etymology
Latin insultāre (“to jump at, insult”), ultimately from salīre (“to jump”).
[edit] Pronunciation
- (verb) enPR: ĭnsŭlt', IPA: /ɪnˈsʌlt/, SAMPA: /In"sVlt/
- (noun) enPR: ĭn'sŭlt, IPA: /ˈɪn.sʌlt/, SAMPA: /"In.sVlt/
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Audio (US) (file) - Rhymes: -ʌlt
[edit] Verb
insult (third-person singular simple present insults, present participle insulting, simple past and past participle insulted)
- (obsolete, intransitive) To behave in an obnoxious and superior manner (over, against). [16th-19th c.]
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.3.3:
- thou hast lost all, poor thou art, dejected, in pain of body, grief of mind, thine enemies insult over thee, thou art as bad as Job [...].
- 1621, Robert Burton, The Anatomy of Melancholy, II.3.3:
- (transitive) To offend (someone) by being rude, insensitive or insolent; to demean or affront (someone). [from 17th c.]
[edit] Synonyms
- (to offend): abuse, affront, offend, slight
- See also Wikisaurus:offend
[edit] Translations
to offend
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[edit] Noun
insult (plural insults)
- An action or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude.
- Anything that causes offence/offense by being of an unacceptable quality.
- The way the orchestra performed tonight was an insult to my ears.
- (medicine) Something causing disease or injury to the body or bodily processes.
- 2011, Terence Allen and Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2011, p. 96:
- Within the complex genome of most organisms there are alternative multiple pathways of proteins which can help the individual cell survive a variety of insults, for example radiation, toxic chemicals, heat, excessive or reduced oxygen.
- 2011, Terence Allen and Graham Cowling, The Cell: A Very Short Introduction, Oxford 2011, p. 96:
[edit] Synonyms
- (deliberatedly intended to be rude): abuse (uncountable), affront, offence (UK)/offense (US), pejorative, slam, slight, slur
- (thing causing offence by being of unacceptable quality): disgrace, outrage
- See also Wikisaurus:offense
[edit] Translations
action or speech deliberately intended to be rude
anything that causes offence/offense by being of an unacceptable quality
- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Help:How to check translations.
- Spanish: ofensa f.
