affront

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affront[1,transitive verb] affront[2,noun]

Main Entry: ¹af·front
Pronunciation: &-'fr&nt
Function: transitive verb
Etymology: Middle English afronten, from Anglo-French afrunter to defy, from Vulgar Latin *affrontare, from Latin ad- + front-, frons forehead
1 a : to insult especially to the face by behavior or language b : to cause offense to <a system of law about both family and marriage that affronted lay society -- J. H. Mundy>
2 a : to face in defiance : CONFRONT <affront death> b obsolete : to encounter face-to-face
3 : to appear directly before
synonym see OFFEND