Adjacent Words

Affront definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

AFFRONT', v.t. [L. frons, front, face.]
1. Literally, to meet or encounter face to face, in a good or bad sense; as,
The seditious affronted the king's forces
[The foregoing sense is obsolete.]
2. To offer abuse to the face; to insult, dare or brave openly; to offer abuse or insult in any manner, by words or actions; as, to affront one by giving him the lie.
3. To abuse, or give cause of offense to, without being present with the person; to make slightly angry; a popular use of the word.
AFFRONT', n.
1. Opposition to the face; open defiance; encounter. Obs.
2. Ill treatment; abuse; any thing reproachful or contemptuous, that excites or justifies resentment, as foul language, or personal abuse. It usually expresses a less degree of abuse than insult
3. Shame; disgrace. [Not used.]
4. In popular language, slight resentment; displeasure.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a deliberately offensive act or something producing the effect of deliberate disrespect; "turning his back on me was a deliberate insult" [syn: insult, affront] v
1: treat, mention, or speak to rudely; "He insulted her with his rude remarks"; "the student who had betrayed his classmate was dissed by everyone" [syn: diss, insult, affront]

Merriam Webster's

I. transitive verb Etymology: Middle English afronten, from Anglo-French afrunter to defy, from Vulgar Latin *affrontare, from Latin ad- + front-, frons forehead Date: 14th century 1. a. to insult especially to the face by behavior or language b. to cause offense to <a system of law about both family and marriage that affronted lay society — J. H. Mundy> 2. a. to face in defiance ; confront <affront death> b. obsolete to encounter face-to-face 3. to appear directly before Synonyms: see offend II. noun Date: 1533 1. obsolete a hostile encounter 2. a deliberate offense ; insult <an affront to his dignity>

Oxford Reference Dictionary

n. & v. --n. an open insult (feel it an affront; offer an affront to). --v.tr. 1 insult openly. 2 offend the modesty or self-respect of. 3 face, confront. Etymology: ME f. OF afronter slap in the face, insult, ult. f. L frons frontis face

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Pocket Pock"et, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Pocketed; p. pr. & vb. n. Pocketing.] 1. To put, or conceal, in the pocket; as, to pocket the change. He would pocket the expense of the license. --Sterne. 2. To take clandestinely or fraudulently. He pocketed pay in the names of men who had long been dead. --Macaulay. To pocket a ball (Billiards), to drive a ball into a pocket of the table. To pocket an insult, affront, etc., to receive an affront without open resentment, or without seeking redress. ``I must pocket up these wrongs.'' --Shak.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Affront Af*front", n. [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. Usage: 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.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Affront Af*front", v. t. [imp. & p. p. Affronted; p. pr. & vb. n. Affronting.] [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 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.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(affronts, affronting, affronted) 1. If something affronts you, you feel insulted and hurt because of it. (FORMAL) ...an incident which particularly affronted Kasparov. VERB: V n • affronted He pretended to be affronted, but inwardly he was pleased... ADJ: usu v-link ADJ 2. If something is an affront to you, it is an obvious insult to you. It's an affront to human dignity to keep someone alive like this... = insult N-COUNT: usu sing, usu N to n

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

I. v. a. 1. Insult, abuse, outrage. 2. Offend, displease, irritate, provoke, chafe, fret, vex, annoy, pique, nettle, anger, gall, miff (colloq.), give offence to, make angry, put to shame, confound, bring to confusion, put out of countenance, shame. 3. Meet, strike upon, strike, come in contact with, smite, smite upon. II. n. 1. Insult, abuse, contumely, indignity, outrage, injury, wrong, ill-treatment, ill-turn. 2. Provocation, offence, vexation, irritation, annoyance. 3. Shame, disgrace, degradation, sense of shame.

Moby Thesaurus

aggrieve, aspersion, atrocity, barb, beard, bell the cat, bid defiance, bite the bullet, brave, brazen, brazen out, breast, brickbat, bring before, bring forward, bring up, call names, call out, casus belli, challenge, confront, confront with, contempt, contumely, criticize, cut, dare, defamation, defy, despite, dig, dishonor, disoblige, dispraise, double-dare, dump, dump on, encounter, enormity, envisage, face, face out, face the music, face up, face up to, face with, fleer at, flout, flouting, front, gibe, gibe at, give offense, give offense to, give umbrage, grieve, humiliate, humiliation, hurl a brickbat, hurt, hurt the feelings, indignity, injury, insult, jeer, jeer at, jeering, jibe at, lay before, meet, meet boldly, meet head-on, meet squarely, mock, mockery, offend, offense, outdare, outrage, place before, present to, provocation, put down, put it to, put-down, raw nerve, red rag, run the gauntlet, scoff, scoff at, scream defiance, scurrility, set at defiance, set before, show fight, slap, slight, sore point, sore spot, speak out, speak up, stand up to, stare down, stem, sting, taunt, tender spot, treat with indignity, uncomplimentary remark, wound