affront
Syllables: af·front/əˈfɹʌnt/US/əˈfrənt/
affront verb: to insult intentionally, especially openly.
Verb
affront (third-person singular simple present affronts, present participle affronting, simple past and past participle affronted)
- To insult intentionally, especially openly.
- But beſides, that ſuch a thought was inconſiſtent with the gravity of a Senate, how can one imagine that the Fathers would have dared affront the Wife of Aurelius, and the Mother of Commodus, or that they could think of giving offence to an Empreſs whom they afterwards Defied, and to an Emperor...1701–03, Joseph Addison, “The Isle of Caprea”, in Remarks on Several Parts of Italy, &c., published 1721, page 92
- To be an affront to; offend.
- European fear and contempt for the American Indian, Allen contends, largely came about because the sexual, economic, and political ways of the woman-centered tribes affronted their own patriarchal assumptions.1986 February 15, Patricia Clark Smith, “A Fresh Wind in the Museum: The Sacred Hoop”, in Gay Community News, volume 14, number 39, page B7
- To meet defiantly; to confront.
- to affront death
- Avignon was beginning to settle down for the night – that long painful stretch of time which must somehow be affronted.1978, Lawrence Durrell, Livia (Avignon Quintet), Faber & Faber, published 1992, page 436
- To meet or encounter face to face.
- Many Iſlands there lie all over that ſea : but one above the reſt, and moſt renowned, is Tazata : for thither all the ſhipping from out of the Caſpian ſea and the Scythian Ocean, doe bend their courſe and there arrive : for that all the ſea coaſts doe affront the Levant, and turne into the Eaſt.1601, Pliny the Elder, translated by Philemon Holland, The History of the World, volume I, translation of Naturalis Historia (in Classical Latin), published 1634, book VI, page 124
- Sweet Gertrude leaue vs too, / For we haue cloſely ſent for Hamlet hither, / That he, as ’twere by accident, may there / Affront Ophelia.c. 1599–1602 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tragedie of Hamlet, Prince of Denmarke”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
Noun
affront (plural affronts)
- An open or intentional offense, slight, or insult.
- Such behavior is an affront to society.
- This day, thou ſhalt haue ingots : and, to morrow, / Giue lords th’ affront.1610, Ben Jonson, “The Alchemist”, in The Workes of Beniamin Ionson, London: Will Stansby, published 1616, act II, scene ii, page 620
- A hostile encounter or meeting.
affront meaning in Tamil, Urdu, Bengali and Malayalam
affront in Tamil
- அவமதிப்பு, நேரடியாக எதிர்கொள்ளல், எதிர்த்தல்
affront in Urdu
- بےعزت, گستاخی, ہتک, سبکی, توہین, ذلت
affront in Bengali
- প্রকাশ্য অপমান
affront in Malayalam
- അധിക്ഷേപിക്കുക, പരസ്യമായി അപമാനിക്കുക, ധിക്കരിക്കുക, നേരിടുക
More languagesFewer languages
- affront in Kannada
- ಹೇವ hēva
Examples of affront in a sentence
- In his book, that counts as an affront, for some reason.
- We've already been through a lot, and now with this latest affront, it's getting to be hard to swallow.
- Sure, his unliving state may be an affront to the natural order, but pobody’s nerfect.
Antonyms of affront
Forms of affront
| Verb | |
|---|---|
| third-person singular present | affronts |
| present participle | affronting |
| past participle | affronted |
| past | affronted |
| Noun | |
| plural | affronts |
Origin of affront
From Middle English afrounten, from Old French afronter (“to hit in the face; to defy”), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare (“to hit in the face”), from Latin ad (“to”) + frōns (“forehead”) (English front). By surface analysis, af- + front.
Words formed from affront
Words that rhyme with affront
Questions about affront
- What does affront mean?
- Affront means to insult intentionally, especially openly.
- What is affront in Tamil?
- Affront in Tamil is அவமதிப்பு, நேரடியாக எதிர்கொள்ளல், எதிர்த்தல். See Affront meaning in Tamil.
- What part of speech is affront?
- Affront can be a verb or a noun.
- How do you pronounce affront?
- Affront is pronounced /əˈfɹʌnt/.
- What is the past tense of affront?
- The past tense of affront is affronted.
Words near affront in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: affront (page history and authors); affront (Tamil Wiktionary) (page history and authors); affront (Urdu Wiktionary) (page history and authors); affront (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors); affront (Malayalam Wiktionary) (page history and authors); ಹೇವ (Kannada) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-affront.wav, en-au-affront.ogg.
Cite this entry: “affront.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/affront. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.