insultingly

insultingly — adverb

1. in a way that shows no respect and is meant to upset or offend the person being

1.adverbB2
Definition

in a way that shows no respect and is meant to upset or offend the person being spoken to or about.

Example

Hugo spoke insultingly about his coach in front of the whole team.

verb + insultingly to describe rude speech

The waiter laughed insultingly when Mauricio asked for the cheapest wine.

Common collocations
  • speak insultingly
  • behave insultingly
  • insultingly low
  • insultingly small
  • insultingly simple
  • treat someone insultingly
Synonyms
  • rudely

    more general; covers any bad manners, not only insults

  • offensively

    stronger; stresses the hurt caused rather than the speaker's tone

  • disrespectfully

    focuses on lack of respect rather than active offence

  • contemptuously

    formal; suggests scorn and looking down on someone

Antonyms
  • respectfully

    showing proper regard for the other person

  • politely

    with good manners and care for others' feelings

Grammar Patterns

verb + insultingly

insultingly + adjective

Usage Note

Often modifies an adjective such as 'low', 'small', 'cheap', or 'simple' to mean that the amount or quality is so poor it feels like an insult. With a verb, the adverb describes how someone speaks or behaves toward another person.

Common Mistakes

He insulted me insultingly.
He spoke to me insultingly.
don't pair the adverb with the verb 'insult'; choose a neutral verb of speech or action instead.

Word family

  • insult
    verbB2
  • insult
    nounB2
  • insulting
    adjectiveB2
  • insulted
    adjectiveB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: adverb/1

All four adverbs describe speech or behaviour that fails to treat someone properly, but they differ in focus. 'Rudely' is the everyday word for bad manners and need not involve any wish to hurt: a child who interrupts adults speaks rudely. 'Disrespectfully' highlights the missing respect, often toward someone in a senior role: 'She answered the judge disrespectfully.' 'Insultingly' goes one step further: the words or actions feel like a deliberate attack on the listener's worth, as in 'He smiled insultingly when she made a mistake.' 'Offensively' is the strongest and broadest: it stresses the hurt caused, and may apply to topics, jokes, or images, not only to direct speech.

insultingly ↗rudely ↗offensivelydisrespectfully

Common collocations

Phrases

  • insultingly low offer
  • insultingly small portion
  • treated insultingly

Prepositions

  • speak insultingly to someone
  • speak insultingly about someone

Etymology

LatinMiddle FrenchEnglish

Formed in English by adding the adverb suffix '-ly' to the adjective 'insulting', which is the present participle of the verb 'insult'. The verb came into English in the late 1500s from Latin 'insultare', meaning 'to leap upon' or 'to scorn', built from 'in-' ('upon') and 'salire' ('to leap'). The original picture is of someone leaping on a defeated enemy in triumph; over time the meaning narrowed to verbal attacks that wound a person's pride.