An affront is a deliberate insult or show of disrespect that's meant to offend someone. When you're affronted, you feel like someone has purposely tried to embarrass or belittle you in front of others.

Imagine a student who worked hard on a science project, only to have a classmate loudly announce that it looks like “something a kindergartener made.” That's an affront: a deliberate attempt to make someone feel small or foolish.

The word carries a sense of public humiliation or disrespect. If your friend forgets to save you a seat at lunch, that might hurt your feelings, but it's probably not an affront. If they deliberately sit somewhere else to make you feel excluded while everyone watches, that is an affront.

You might encounter the phrase an affront to, as in “That messy room is an affront to good manners!” This means something that clearly violates or insults a standard many people respect. Historical figures have described unjust laws as affronts to human dignity.

When someone affronts you, they're choosing to disrespect you openly, and that intentional public disrespect is what makes an affront sting more than an ordinary insult.