AFFRONT
insult, affront
(noun) a deliberately offensive act or something producing the effect of deliberate disrespect; “turning his back on me was a deliberate insult”
diss, insult, affront
(verb) treat, mention, or speak to rudely; “He insulted her with his rude remarks”; “the student who had betrayed his classmate was dissed by everyone”
Source: WordNet® 3.1
Etymology
Verb
affront (third-person singular simple present affronts, present participle affronting, simple past and past participle affronted)
To insult intentionally, especially openly.
To meet defiantly; to confront.
(obsolete) To meet or encounter face to face.
Synonyms
• See also offend
Noun
affront (plural affronts)
An open or intentional offense, slight, or insult.
(obsolete) A hostile encounter or meeting.
Synonyms
• See also offense
Source: Wiktionary
Af*front", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Affronted; p. pr. & vb. n.
Affronting.] Etym: [OF. afronter, F. affronter, to confront, LL.
affrontare to strike against, fr. L. ad + frons forehead, front. See
Front.]
1. To front; to face in position; to meet or encounter face to face.
[Obs.]
All the sea-coasts do affront the Levant. Holland.
That he, as 't were by accident, may here Affront Ophelia. Shak.
2. To face in defiance; to confront; as, to confront; as, to affront
death; hence, to meet in hostile encounter. [Archaic]
3. To offend by some manifestation of disrespect; to insult to the
face by demeanor or language; to treat with marked incivility.
How can any one imagine that the fathers would have dared to affront
the wife of Aurelius Addison.
Syn.
– TO insult; abuse; outrage; wound; illtreat; slight; defy; offend;
provoke; pique; nettle.
Af*front", n. Etym: [Cf. F. affront, fr. affronter.]
1. An encounter either friendly or hostile. [Obs.]
I walked about, admired of all, and dreaded On hostile ground, none
daring my affront. Milton.
2. Contemptuous or rude treatment which excites or justifies
resentment; marked disrespect; a purposed indignity; insult.
Offering an affront to our understanding. Addison.
3. An offense to one's self-respect; shame. Arbuthnot.
Syn.
– Affront, Insult, Outrage. An affront is a designed mark of
disrespect, usually in the presence of others. An insult is a
personal attack either by words or actions, designed to humiliate or
degrade. An outrage is an act of extreme and violent insult or abuse.
An affront piques and mortifies; an insult irritates and provokes; an
outrage wounds and injures.
Captious persons construe every innocent freedom into an affront.
When people are in a state of animosity, they seek opportunities of
offering each other insults. Intoxication or violent passion impels
men to the commission of outrages. Crabb.
Source: Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary 1913 Edition