Insulting

How to spell insulting

9 letters · 3 syllables

How to pronounce insulting

Say the part in capitals loudest.

What does insulting mean?

1. adjectiveDisrespectful and offensive in a way that wounds someone's pride or dignity.
2. verbIn the act of treating someone with scornful disrespect or offence.

Insulting in a sentence

• adjective

  The manager apologised for the insulting tone of the email.

• verb

  He kept insulting the staff in front of the customers.

• adjective

  Customers found the low refund offer deeply insulting.

• verb

  By mocking their accents she was insulting the whole team.

Where does insulting come from?

Language of origin: Latin

This word traces back to the Latin verb insultare, which literally meant 'to leap upon' or 'to jump on', formed from in- meaning 'on' and salire meaning 'to leap'. In Roman usage the image of jumping on someone shifted into the sense of trampling on a person's dignity, that is, treating them with scorn and contempt. The word travelled into English through French in the sixteenth century, first as the verb 'insult' and then as the adjective 'insulting'. The same leaping root salire hides inside surprising relatives such as 'somersault' and 'salient', so the shared idea of springing or jumping links a gymnastic flip to a stinging remark. The single s and the straightforward -ult spelling rarely trip writers, since the word follows its Latin shape closely.

How the word is built

• in- (on, upon)
• sult (from salire: to leap)
• -ing (present participle / adjective suffix)