If you want to confront an insulting person but don’t want to stoop to their tactics, you’ve come to the right place!
In this article, we’ll discuss what to call a person who insults others without being too mean. So, read on to learn more!
Words for a Person Who Insults Others
- Bully
- Stirrer
- Offensive
- Critical
- Antagonist
- Cruel
- Mean
- Unkind
- Rude
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- A “bully” is an insecure person who frequently insults or threatens others to distract from their own insecurities.
- You can call someone who indirectly insults other people as a means of stirring up tension a “stirrer.”
- An “offensive” person is someone who is constantly on the attack and makes other people feel embarrassed and offended.
Keep reading to learn more about our top three terms for a person who insults others.
In addition, we’ll show you how to use each of our choices in some helpful example sentences!
Bully
When someone insults you or anyone else on a daily basis, you can call them a “bully.”
Merriam-Webster defines a “bully” as “one who is habitually cruel, insulting, or threatening to others who are weaker, smaller, or in some way vulnerable.”
Usually, a “bully” is a person with low self-esteem who takes out their feelings of inadequacy on the people around them.
They may do this by insulting other people’s looks or personalities, or even by threatening others with physical violence.
From the definition above, you can see that what makes a bully is not the fact that they insult other people per se.
Rather, a bully is someone who terrorizes others or a specific person frequently and habitually.
To see how you can use the word “bully” in a sentence, have a look at the examples below:
Billy acts like he’s better than everyone, but at the end of the day he’s just a scared child and a bully.
He’s constantly talking down to the women in the office and implying that they are stupid – a typical workplace bully.
Stirrer
A person who insults everyone can be called a “stirrer.”
According to the Collins Dictionary, “If you refer to someone as a stirrer, you disapprove of them because they often try to cause trouble.”
In short, a “stirrer” is someone who tries to get under people’s skin by criticizing and undermining them.
Unlike a bully, a stirrer may be a tad more sly and subtle when they get their digs in. So, when someone insults you indirectly, you know you have encountered a “stirrer.”
It’s hard to say for sure why a “stirrer” behaves the way they do.
But, by all appearances, it seems as if some people just like to cause tension and derive joy from angering and outraging those around them.
This is precisely why the term “stirrer” is so appropriate for a person who insults others.
After all, this term creates the image of a utensil that agitates a bowl of water. Similarly, a “stirrer” will make an effort to agitate everyone in their general vicinity!
Let’s see a couple of example sentences that include this term:
Try to ignore Bertrand. He’s a notorious stirrer.
She’s just doing what any stirrer does; try to disrupt all our peace with her unkind words.
Offensive
Another word for someone who insults others is “offensive.”
According to the Collins Dictionary, “Something that is offensive upsets or embarrasses people because it is rude or insulting.”
You can use the word “offensive” to describe the content you see on television or the way you hear someone speaking.
However, if a person makes an effort to constantly insult and offend other people, you can call them “offensive” as well.
In fact, this is a far more polite way to confront a rude and insulting person without giving in to the temptation to insult them back.
In a military sense, to be offensive means to be the aggressor or attacker in warfare. Therefore, it makes sense to call someone who constantly attacks people with insults “offensive” as well.
Consider the example sentences below:
Gabriel is the most offensive man I have ever had the displeasure of meeting.
I find the way you speak to people highly offensive.