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 cast’s sole survivor is Jessica Hecht, who pours miraculous warmth and complexity into her faintly insulting role as Colleen, the head teller, a morally upright spinster goosed by her flirtation with Sonny and the spotlight. —Emily Nussbaum, New Yorker, 2 Apr. 2026

Drawing parallels between this unpopular war and World War II is ludicrous and insulting. —Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 2 Apr. 2026

Some citizens of the French-speaking Canadian province of Quebec, which includes Air Canada’s home city of Montreal, claimed Rousseau’s English-only message was insulting, especially as one of the two pilots who died in the incident, Antoine Forest, was a French-speaking Quebecer. —Marco Quiroz-Gutierrez, Fortune, 30 Mar. 2026

While their insulting jabs at each other make for good laughs, their arc as teammates learning to work together is what gives the film its heart. —Glenn Garner, Deadline, 13 Mar. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Adjective

circa 1616, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for insulting

• consulting
• exulting
• resulting