AFFRONT Synonyms: 91 Similar and Opposite Words

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

Q: 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

affront 1 of 2

noun

Definition of affront next

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

Synonyms & Similar Words

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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

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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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

Conversely, the No on A campaign is aggressively spending on digital ads and print mailers to defeat the measure, targeting residents fed up with tax and fee increases with the message that the measure is a City Hall tax scheme and an affront to property rights. —

Jennifer Van Grove, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026 To some of those near us, her spasms were clearly an affront. —

Tom Levenson, Time, 20 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

According to Spell and members of his congregation, the man had a history of verbally harassing them with threats, insults and racial slurs.

— Drew Pittock, USA Today, 25 June 2026
Michael Lind, the writer and New America co-founder, argues in Commonplace, the magazine of Oren Cass’s American Compass, that a decent wage and a safety net should be enough, and that handing workers a stake in capital insults the dignity of their labor.

— Teresa Ghilarducci, Forbes.com, 23 June 2026

Definition of insult

Verb

The pro‑government newspaper Sabah said dozens of viewers were offended by jokes on religion and filed complaints, prompting the investigation.

— ABC News, ABC News, 3 July 2026
The street preacher asks if someone could be cited if a transgender person is offended if they are misgendered by another person.

— Emily Holshouser July 2, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 July 2026