Word.ws English Dictionary

microinsult

microinsult noun: a form or instance of microaggression that demeans a person's racial heritage or identity.

Noun

microinsult (plural microinsults)

  1. A form or instance of microaggression that demeans a person's racial heritage or identity.
    • In contrast to microassaults, microinsults and microinvalidations function as unconscious expressions of sexist ideals, making them more difficult to detect. Microinsults are characterized by covert expressions of ethnocentrism and patriarchy. Gender-based microinsults convey hidden offensive...2017, Kevin L. Nadal, The SAGE Encyclopedia of Psychology and Gender, SAGE Publications, →ISBN, page 1182

Verb

microinsult (third-person singular simple present microinsults, present participle microinsulting, simple past and past participle microinsulted)

  1. (rare) To engage in the practice of making microinsults.
    • For example, changing seats to be further away from a^([sic]) LGBT person would be microinsulting, while creating an environment where someone feels pushed to "stay in the closet" can be considered microinvalidating. Second, the heterosexist and homonegative behaviors may appear to be harmless but...2010, Kevin L[eo] Nadal, David P. Rivera, Melissa J. H. Corpus, “Sexual Orientation and Transgender Microaggressions: Implications for Mental Health and Counseling”, in Derald Wing Sue, editor...
    • Depending on the consciousness and intent of his actions, these may be considered microassaults or microinsults. Similarly hostile sexism may also take microassaultive, microinsulting, or microinvalidating forms.2010, Michele Antoinette Paludi, Feminism and Women's Rights Worldwide, →ISBN, page 163

Forms of microinsult

Noun
pluralmicroinsults
Verb
third-person singular presentmicroinsults
present participlemicroinsulting
past participlemicroinsulted
pastmicroinsulted

Origin of microinsult

From micro- + insult.

Questions about microinsult

What does microinsult mean?
Microinsult means a form or instance of microaggression that demeans a person's racial heritage or identity.
What part of speech is microinsult?
Microinsult can be a noun or a verb.
What is the plural of microinsult?
The plural of microinsult is microinsults.

Words near microinsult in the dictionary

  1. microinsular
  2. microinsularity
  3. microinsulation
  4. microinsulator
  5. microinsulators
  6. microinsult
  7. microinsulted
  8. microinsulting
  9. microinsults
  10. microinsurance
  11. microinsurer

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: microinsult (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.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “microinsult.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/microinsult. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.