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Webster's Dictionary (1865)

2 entries under this word

Affront

Af-frônt', v. t.

verbtransitive

(ăf-frŭnt′), v. t. [imp. & pp. AFFRONTED; p. pr. & vb. n. AFFRONTING.] [Fr. affronter, Pr. afrontar, Sp. afrontar, afrentar, It. affrontare, to attack, insult; from Lat. ad and frons, forehead, front.]

Sense 1. To front; to face; or to meet or encounter face to face. [Obs.]

All the sea-coasts do affront the Levant. Holland.

That he, as ’twere by accident, might here Affront Ophelia. Shak.

The seditious affronted the king’s forces. Hayward.

Sense 2. To offend by some manifestation of disrespect, as would be done by crossing a person’s path in front, or seeking to oppose his progress.

How can any one imagine that the Fathers would have dared to affront the wife of Aurelius? Addison.

☞ This manifestation of disrespect may be a serious one, and then the person is greatly affronted; or it may be of a lighter character, and then he is but slightly angry. This latter sense is now the prevalent one in familiar speech.

Synonyms—To insult; abuse; outrage; brave; dare; defy; offend; provoke; pique; nettle; displease.

A'f-rônt', n.

noun

n. [Fr. affront, It. affronto, Sp. afrenta. See supra.] Any reproachful or contemptuous action or conduct that excites or justifies resentment; ill treatment. It usually expresses a less degree of abuse than insult. [Rare.]

Upon the sense of which affront he died with grief. Arbuthnot.

Synonyms— AFFRONT, INSULT, OUTRAGE. 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.