as in sarcasms
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
panelists on that political talk show simply exchange insults, not ideas
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
as in offends
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in
insulted their hosts by casually remarking about the outdated look of their home
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of insults
Mikhail Zygar, Vanity Fair, 7 Jan. 2026
The Marty Supreme scene in question sees Shark Tank's Kevin O'Leary (in his first screen acting role), who plays businessman Milton Rockwell, physically punish Chalamet's Marty for several insults Marty deals Milton throughout the movie.
—Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
Lauren Witzke, a QAnon activist and former Republican Senate candidate in Delaware who attended Turning Point USA’s recent AmericaFest gathering, has repeatedly slung personal insults at Fine.
—Andrew Lapin, Sun Sentinel, 5 Jan. 2026
In past election cycles, city leaders who were finalists for the event lobbed insults at one another, disparaging one another from across the country for a chance at the prestigious selection.
—Elliott Wenzler, Denver Post, 4 Jan. 2026
Powell has remained generally apolitical on fiscal issues during his tenure and has not responded publicly to the president’s frequent insults.
—Steve Liesman, CNBC, 2 Jan. 2026
She was fined twice for public insults and six times for inciting racial hatred for comments about Muslims in France.
—Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 28 Dec. 2025
Although the theater received some praise for its creation, most commenters either made fun of the blue burger with memes, gifs, jokes or insults.
—Jonathan Limehouse, USA Today, 20 Dec. 2025
On screen, Lawrence and Pattinson hurl nonstop insults at each other in loud bursts of verbal warfare, a striking contrast to the duo’s quieter working relationship.
—Antonio Ferme, Variety, 2 Nov. 2025
Tommy McArdle, PEOPLE, 26 Dec. 2025
Basil, of course, is far from perfect, a rude, neurotic, accident-prone manager who insults guests, hides his gambling winnings from his wife and organizes an elaborate impersonation of her when his surprise anniversary party backfires.
—Rhett Bartlett, HollywoodReporter, 28 Oct. 2025
Attorney General Pam Bondi insults Democrats in Senate hearing.
—Sudiksha Kochi, USA Today, 8 Oct. 2025
In the case of Governor Pritzker insults his body, body shamed him.
—Khaleda Rahman, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Aug. 2025
No matter how many times Putin insults the president and ignores his calls for a total ceasefire in Ukraine, Trump returns for more humiliation.
—Trudy Rubin, Mercury News, 15 Aug. 2025
Noun
Men sneered contemptuously at them, while teenagers used their names as insults.
—Verb
The paddling comes as revenge for multiple times Marty insults the businessman throughout the movie.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for insults
Verb
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If that language offends you — come on.—
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If one employee offends another, they are fired on the spot.—
Noun
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Rideout’s trial, for example, teemed with outrages.—
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Today’s designation is a critical step in holding accountable and changing the behavior of Nigerian officials who have facilitated and created an environment conducive to the outrages in Nigeria.—
Verb
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The two come face-to-face at the end of the episode, during which Callahan taunts Kyle over his wife's murder.—
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Instead, Pennywise taunts Ingrid before showing her the deadlights and leaving her (mostly) catatonic.—
Noun
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After being delivered one too many indignities, Ziggy snaps and takes out his partner in a fit of rage.—
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Accompanying these brutal game logs has been a parade of other indignities.—
Verb
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What once killed campaigns now barely wounds them.—
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Even with all of them in place, Shirley misses the masked attacker sneaking his way up to the apartment door, and Lamb’s attempt to blind him with bleach creates a chaotic struggle that wounds the assailant without containing him.—
Noun
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Just a few days earlier in California, a house that had been decorated with lights celebrating Chanukah was riddled with bullets, with the assailant having been heard to yell anti-Jewish epithets.—
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The doc has also earned the ire of Chase’s former Community co-star Yvette Nicole Brown, who firmly distanced herself from it and all attempts to reinvestigate Chase’s firing from the show amid accusations of hurling racial epithets.—
Noun
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Tensions flared between the parties as the otherwise mild-mannered Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) traded barbs with Democrats.—
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But shortly after, Minaj threw barbs as SZA’s career, criticizing her decision to re-release her 2022 album SOS as the deluxe version Lana last year.—
Noun
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According to the police report, officers witnessed the spitting on video, but not the use of racial slurs.—
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Holman, at times, had to endure racist jokes and slurs, and got the silent treatment from some.—
Cite this Entry
“Insults.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/insults. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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