Crossword Dictionary

What's The Definition Of Affront?

\Af*front"\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Affronted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Affronting}.] [OF. afronter, F. affronter, to confront, LL. affrontare to strike against, fr. L. ad + frons forehead, front. See {Front}.] 1. To front; to face in position; to meet or encounter face to face. [Obs.] All the sea-coasts do affront the Levant. --Holland. That he, as 't were by accident, may here Affront Ophelia. --Shak. 2. To face in defiance; to confront; as, to affront death; hence, to meet in hostile encounter. [Archaic] 3. To offend by some manifestation of disrespect; to insult to the face by demeanor or language; to treat with marked incivility. How can any one imagine that the fathers would have dared to affront the wife of Aurelius? --Addison. Syn: To insult; abuse; outrage; wound; illtreat; slight; defy; offend; provoke; pique; nettle.
\Af*front"\, n. [Cf. F. affront, fr. affronter.] 1. An encounter either friendly or hostile. [Obs.] I walked about, admired of all, and dreaded On hostile ground, none daring my affront. --Milton. 2. Contemptuous or rude treatment which excites or justifies resentment; marked disrespect; a purposed indignity; insult. Offering an affront to our understanding. --Addison. 3. An offense to one's self-respect; shame. --Arbuthnot. Syn: {Affront}, {Insult}, {Outrage}. Usage: An affront is a designed mark of disrespect, usually in the presence of others. An insult is a personal attack either by words or actions, designed to humiliate or degrade. An outrage is an act of extreme and violent insult or abuse. An affront piques and mortifies; an insult irritates and provokes; an outrage wounds and injures. Captious persons construe every innocent freedom into an affront. When people are in a state of animosity, they seek opportunities of offering each other insults. Intoxication or violent passion impels men to the commission of outrages. --Crabb.