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affront - 5 dictionary results

af⋅front

  [uh-fruhnt]
Use affront in a Sentence
–noun
1. a personally offensive act or word; deliberate act or display of disrespect; intentional slight; insult: an affront to the king.
2. an offense to one's dignity or self-respect.
–verb (used with object)
3. to offend by an open manifestation of disrespect or insolence: His speech affronted all of us.
4. to make ashamed or confused; embarrass.
5. Archaic. to front; face; look on.
6. Obsolete. to meet or encounter face to face; confront.
Origin:
1300–50; ME afrounten < MF af(f)ronter to strike in the face < VL *affrontāre, deriv. of L phrase ad frontem at or toward the forehead (as the seat of one's feelings or dignity). See ad-, front

Related forms:
af⋅front⋅ed⋅ly, adverb
af⋅front⋅ed⋅ness, noun
af⋅front⋅er, noun
af⋅front⋅ing⋅ly, adverb

Synonyms:
1. impertinence; contumely, scorn; indignity, abuse, outrage. See insult. 3. insult, slight, abuse.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To affront
af·front   (ə-frŭnt')   
tr.v.   af·front·ed, af·front·ing, af·fronts
  1. To insult intentionally, especially openly. See Synonyms at offend.
    1. To meet defiantly; confront.
    2. Obsolete To meet or encounter face to face.
n.  
  1. An open or intentional offense, slight, or insult: Such behavior is an affront to society.
  2. Obsolete A hostile encounter or meeting.

[Middle English afrounten, from Old French afronter : Latin ad-, ad- + Latin frōns, front-, face; see front.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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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.

Affront

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.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : affront
Spanish: afrenta,
German: die Beleidigung,
Japanese: 侮辱
More Translations »

affront  (v.)
c.1315, from O.Fr. afronter "to face, confront," lit. "to strike on the forehead," from L.L. affrontare "to strike against," from L. ad frontem "to the face," from frons (gen. frontis) "forehead." The noun is 1598, from the verb.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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