INDEX:
1. to be very rude to someone
2. language or behaviour that insults someone
3. words or actions that insult someone
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ OFFEND
↑ RUDE
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1. to be very rude to someone
▷ insult /ɪnˈsʌlt/ [transitive verb]
to be very rude and unpleasant to someone, either by saying rude things to them or by making them feel stupid or unimportant :
▪ Jarvis was fired for insulting a customer.
▪ They offered me $20 for a whole day’s work - I felt really insulted.
▷ be rude to /biː ˈruːd tuː/ [verb phrase]
to speak or behave towards someone in a way that offends them :
▪ My mother doesn’t like my boyfriend because he was rude to her once.
▪ You shouldn’t let her be so rude to you.
▷ abuse /əˈbjuːz/ [transitive verb]
to say a lot of rude, offensive, unpleasant things to someone, especially when you are angry with them :
▪ The men were getting drunk on cheap beer and some had started abusing passers-by.
verbally abuse
to say something very rude to someone
▪ The player was reported to the tournament director for verbally abusing match officials.
▷ shout/scream/hurl abuse at /ˌʃaʊt, ˌskriːm, ˌhɜːʳl əˈbjuːs æt/ [verb phrase]
to shout a lot of rude and offensive things at someone :
▪ The crowd screamed abuse as the two men accused of the murder left the court in police vans.
▪ Strikers outside the factory gate were shouting abuse at anybody who tried to get past them.
▷ call somebody names /ˌkɔːl somebody ˈneɪmz/ [verb phrase]
to try to offend someone by calling them rude names in the way that children do :
▪ He tried to make Oliver cry by hitting him, pulling his hair, and calling him names.
▪ ‘She said I was a fat pig.’ ‘Oh, I’ve been called far worse names than that.’
▷ be an insult /biː ən ˈɪnsʌlt/ [verb phrase]
if an action or someone’s behaviour is an insult, it offends you because it shows no respect :
▪ The pay offer of 2% was an insult.
be an insult to
▪ The girl’s father claimed the portrait revealing his daughter’s face was an insult to Islam.
2. language or behaviour that insults someone
▷ insulting /ɪnˈsʌltɪŋ/ [adjective]
insulting remarks or behaviour are very rude and you feel offended by them :
▪ She started making insulting comments about the size of my stomach.
▪ I wasn’t being deliberately insulting. I simply meant that more exercise would be good for you.
▪ He was accused of using threatening or insulting behaviour and of assaulting a police officer.
▪ I find his behaviour towards me extremely insulting.
▪ Sexist language is very insulting to women.
▷ abusive /əˈbjuːsɪv/ [adjective]
very rude and using offensive language :
▪ The woman became angry and abusive when she was not allowed into the hotel.
▪ Smith was fined £500 for making foul and abusive comments to match officials.
▪ Drunken football fans began directing a stream of abusive language at the policemen.
▪ The way pupils use sexually abusive language to insult each other presents particular problems for teachers.
3. words or actions that insult someone
▷ insult /ˈɪnsʌlt/ [countable noun]
something rude that someone says or does to someone else, that offends their intelligence, character, or appearance etc :
▪ Outside the pub, a drunk was shouting insults at everyone who came past.
▪ You mustn’t wear your shoes inside the temple -- it is a great insult.
hurl insults (at somebody)
▪ People were hurling insults at the players as they walked off the pitch.
take something as an insult
be insulted by it
▪ I said something about her new hairstyle and she took it as an insult.
▷ abuse /əˈbjuːs/ [uncountable noun]
rude, offensive, or unpleasant things that someone says to someone else, especially when they are angry :
shout/scream/hurl abuse
▪ People were shouting abuse at the Prime Minister as he sped away in a large car.
▪ An angry mob screamed abuse and hurled missiles during clashes with police yesterday.
▪ Demonstrators hurled abuse at councillors as they entered the council building in Glasgow.
term of abuse
a word used to insult someone
▪ By the late 1970s, the word ‘hippie’ had become a term of abuse.
torrent/stream of abuse
a lot of abuse
▪ Leaning out of the window, he let loose a stream of abuse.
▷ affront /əˈfrʌnt/ [countable noun usually singular] formal
a remark or action that offends someone because it treats them without any respect :
affront to
▪ She felt that his behaviour was an affront to her dignity as a human being.
▪ Lucy was so shocked by these affronts that she remained speechless for the rest of the evening.
personal affront
▪ Though I only intended it as a joke, he took it as a personal affront.