Thesaurus results for AFFRONT

affront 1 of 2

noun

Definition of affront

as in insult

an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings took it as an affront that she wasn't invited to say a few words at the ribbon-cutting ceremony

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

affront

2 of 2

verb

ə-ˈfrənt

as in to insult

to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in did not mean to affront you when I told you I didn't need your help

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How is the word affront distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of affront are insult, offend, and outrage. While all these words mean "to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment," affront implies treating with deliberate rudeness or contemptuous indifference to courtesy.

deeply affronted by his callousness

When is it sensible to use insult instead of affront?

While the synonyms insult and affront are close in meaning, insult suggests deliberately causing humiliation, hurt pride, or shame.

insulted every guest at the party

When can offend be used instead of affront?

Although the words offend and affront have much in common, offend need not imply an intentional hurting but it may indicate merely a violation of the victim's sense of what is proper or fitting.

hoped that my remarks had not offended her

In what contexts can outrage take the place of affront?

The synonyms outrage and affront are sometimes interchangeable, but outrage implies offending beyond endurance and calling forth extreme feelings.

outraged by their accusations

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of affront

Noun

Adley and his team make great tasting plates first and foremost, but some of the items, like the unmissable chicken wings stuffed with boudin blanc and romesco, act as a cheeky affront to haute cuisine’s pretensions and conventions. — Colin Wrenn, Denver Post, 3 June 2026 Lawyers for plaintiffs called it an affront. — Miami Herald, 31 May 2026

Verb

Thinking about it that way invests meaning in an anecdote Norris related about a member of the copy department so affronted by something a colleague had done that she was inspired to pick up an object and hurl it in that colleague’s general direction. — Ben Yagoda, New Yorker, 22 Sep. 2025 Attention also has centered on, among other things, the misuse of AI, deepfakes, hallucinations, AI’s effect on jobs, and safeguarding values that certain AI applications might affront. — Eleanor Pringle, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2025 See All Example Sentences for affront

Recent Examples of Synonyms for affront

Noun

To call them journalists would be an insult to the profession.

— Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 24 Aug. 2026
The exchange began when Pham criticized Myers over a play, leading to a heated back-and-forth online, with Pham eventually resorting to personal insults.

— Peter Chawaga, Forbes.com, 23 Aug. 2026

Definition of insult

Verb

Patterson indicated he wasn’t offended when the Dolphins signed Gonzalez as competition.

— Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 21 Aug. 2026
The question that has been most persistently posed by the press—whether M is based on Cusk’s real-life acquaintance Natalie Portman, who is reportedly offended by the implication—has an answer as obvious as the very line of inquiry is tedious.

— Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026

Definition of offend

Noun

The other presidents had some semblance of comedic appreciation, whether through cynicism, irony, sarcasm, joke-telling, joke appreciation or storytelling.

— John Blumenthal, Chicago Tribune, 16 Aug. 2026
Like all of Roth’s content, there is a mix of dead seriousness, dry sarcasm, and wondrous joy in equal measure.

— Marisa Meltzer, Vanity Fair, 12 Aug. 2026

Definition of sarcasm

Verb

The victim's wife, who asked to be identified only by her first name, Marlene, and did not want her face shown, said she was outraged by what happened.

— Peter D'Oench, CBS News, 17 Aug. 2026
In Miami, Mayor Carlos Alvarez was recalled and overwhelmingly voted out of office in 2011 due to outrage over his public funding of a controversial new Marlins stadium.

— Cuyler Dunn, Kansas City Star, 17 Aug. 2026

Definition of outrage

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affrights

affront

affronted

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“Affront.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affront. Accessed 28 Aug. 2026.

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Synonyms of affront

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