affront 1 of 2

affront

2 of 2

verb

Synonym Chooser

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
Like a growing number of tech oligarchs, Musk appears to regard the very idea of empowering the government to perform such functions as an affront. Eyal Press, The New Yorker, 10 Feb. 2025 In some cases, the pivot can be understood as appealing not so much to Trump as to his hard-core supporters, who see an affront to him as an affront to them all. Steven Zeitchik, The Hollywood Reporter, 6 Feb. 2025
Verb
She’s known to personally reach out to attendees who have felt affronted by her material. Anna Tingley, Variety, 16 Aug. 2024 The administration’s statements and actions have affronted Iraqis by appearing to ignore their sovereignty, which is still a sore subject for a country the United States invaded. Linda S. Robinson, Foreign Affairs, 12 Aug. 2019 See All Example Sentences for affront
Recent Examples of Synonyms for affront
Noun
  • During a 2026 World Cup qualifier against Brazil in November 2023, Messi and Rodrygo exchanged insults.
    Felipe Cardenas, The Athletic, 26 Feb. 2025
  • The jury found that on Aug. 19, after Stanford revoked her access, Mangi logged into the study database and replaced patient medical data with erroneous information and insults about her former supervisor, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
    Jason Green, The Mercury News, 25 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Zoe Saldaña has issued an apology to Mexicans who were offended by the Emilia Pérez film.
    DeMicia Inman, VIBE.com, 3 Mar. 2025
  • Which would be the result soon enough if the paper treated the Letters column as some kind of exercise in PR, and excluded all opinions likely to offend somebody somewhere.
    arkansasonline.com, arkansasonline.com, 1 Mar. 2025
Verb
  • But the victim’s family were outraged by the offer, and a Superior Court judge rejected the deal.
    Julia Coin, Charlotte Observer, 5 Mar. 2025
  • Rights groups have been outraged over the hijab law and the cruel ways it is enforced.
    Artemis Moshtaghian and Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 5 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • With her previous roles in Blockers and Drive-Away Dolls, Viswanathan is a studio comedy pro at this point, injecting her trademark sarcasm and deadpan stare whenever necessary.
    Jourdain Searles, The Hollywood Reporter, 29 Jan. 2025
  • At a dinner party in Cairo, the Egyptian capital, a guest speaks with dark sarcasm of the singular achievements of Yahya Sinwar, the Hamas mastermind behind the horrendous Oct. 7, 2023, attack that sparked the current conflagration (an Israeli drone killed Sinwar a year later).
    Max Rodenbeck, TIME, 17 Jan. 2025

Browse Nearby Words

Podcast

Cite this Entry

“Affront.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/affront. Accessed 12 Mar. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on affront

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!