affront

C2+ Topic:Actions & Processes

US /əˈfrʌnt/ UK /əˈfrʌnt/ See IPA manual

Homophones

afront /əˈfrʌnt/

Meanings

1

noun
an open insult or deliberate act of disrespect

His remark was a deliberate affront to her dignity.

Thesaurus

Synonyms

1 noun · an open insult or... insult offense slight indignity outrage provocation snub

Opposites

compliment courtesy honor tribute

Word family

Derived forms affrontedaffronteraffrontive

Related forms front confront frontal

Simplified etymology

Affront entered Middle English through Old French, where its source meant “strike someone on the forehead” or “insult someone to their face.” It ultimately derives from Latin ad frontem, “to the face.”

Etymology

From Old French afronter ('to face, strike on the forehead, defy'), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare, from Latin ad ('to') + frons ('forehead, front').

afronter Old French frons Latin

View etymology graph ->

Topics

Actions & Processes

External links

# affront

**Type:** Word
**Level:** C2+
**Part of speech:** noun
**IPA (US):** /əˈfrʌnt/
**IPA (UK):** /əˈfrʌnt/

## Meanings
1. an open insult or deliberate act of disrespect

## Examples
- His remark was a deliberate affront to her dignity.

## Synonyms
- insult
- offense
- slight
- indignity
- outrage
- provocation
- snub

## Antonyms
- compliment
- courtesy
- honor
- tribute

## Derived Forms
- affronted
- affronter
- affrontive

## Related Forms
- front
- confront
- frontal

## Roots and Affixes
- Root: afronter
- Root: frons

## Etymology
From Old French afronter ('to face, strike on the forehead, defy'), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare, from Latin ad ('to') + frons ('forehead, front').

## AI Etymology
Affront is from Old French afronter ('to face, strike on the forehead, defy'), from Vulgar Latin *affrontare, from Latin ad ('to') + frons ('forehead, front'). In present-day use, it means an open insult or deliberate act of disrespect. Derived formations include affronted, affronter, and affrontive. Related vocabulary includes front, confront, and frontal.

## Topics
- Actions & Processes

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