TOP

Definition of insult verb from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

insult

verb
 
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
 
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
Verb Forms
present simple I / you / we / they insult
 
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
 
/ɪnˈsʌlt/
he / she / it insults
 
/ɪnˈsʌlts/
 
/ɪnˈsʌlts/
past simple insulted
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪd/
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪd/
past participle insulted
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪd/
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪd/
-ing form insulting
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪŋ/
 
/ɪnˈsʌltɪŋ/
jump to other results
  1. insult somebody/something to say or do something that offends somebody
    • I have never been so insulted in my life!
    • She felt insulted by the low offer.
    • You insult my intelligence! (= you are treating me as if I am stupid)
    Extra Examples
    • He was dismissed for publicly insulting prominent politicians.
    • I felt deeply insulted that she hadn't asked me to the meeting.
    • Do you really expect me to believe that? Don't insult my intelligence!
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadverb
    • publicly
    phrases
    • be insulted
    • feel insulted
    See full entry
    Word Originmid 16th cent. (as a verb in the sense ‘exult, act arrogantly’): from Latin insultare ‘jump or trample on’, from in- ‘on’ + saltare, from salire ‘to leap’. The noun (in the early 17th cent. denoting an attack) is from French insulte or ecclesiastical Latin insultus. The main current senses date from the 17th cent.
See insult in the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

Other results

All matches
Idioms
trait
noun
 
 
From the Word list
Oxford 5000
B2
Oxford Learner's Dictionaries Word of the Day