insulting

1 of 2

adjective

in·​sult·​ing in-ˈsəl-tiŋ 

: giving or intended to give offense : being or containing an insult (see insult entry 2 sense 1)

Without the wit, of course, such sentiments would be construed as deeply insulting …

—The American Scholar

… pasted insulting bumper stickers on their vehicles …

—James A. Michener

… considered the proposal so impracticable as to be insulting.

—Alice Adams

The book is "dumbed down" to an almost insulting level.

—Joel Bangilan

insultingly

in-ˈsəl-tiŋ-lē 

adverb

But always his triumphs are the triumphs of a highly sensitive man: a man must feel insults before he can so insultingly and splendidly avenge them.

—G. K. Chesterton

He is a gifted preacher, fashioning sermons that are neither inaccessibly erudite nor insultingly shallow.

—Kevin Sack

insulting

2 of 2

present participle of insult entry 1

Examples of insulting in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Adjective

The idea that women need to be properly taught how to conceive a child through a government program is a particularly insulting proposal, says Reshma Saujani, the founder and CEO of Moms First. —Stephanie McNeal, Glamour, 22 Apr. 2025

But in March, U.S. District Judge Benjamin Settle in Tacoma, Wash., ruled for several long-serving transgender military members who say that the ban is insulting and discriminatory and that their firing would cause lasting damage to their careers and reputations. —Mark Sherman, Los Angeles Times, 24 Apr. 2025

But to suggest that the declining birth rate is largely a function of people not knowing how their bodies work is both insulting and ignorant of the real issue. —Erica Sloan, SELF, 23 Apr. 2025

Danish officials and Greenlanders saw Carter’s absurd proposal as insulting and damaging to diplomatic relations. —Derek H. Alderman, The Conversation, 26 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for insulting

• consulting
• exulting
• resulting