Affront.
Synonyms:
| aggravate, | exasperate, | offend, | vex, |
| annoy, | insult, | provoke, | wound. |
| displease, | irritate, | tease, |
One may be annoyed by the well-meaning awkwardness of a servant, irritated by a tight shoe or a thoughtless remark, vexed at some careless neglect or needless misfortune, wounded by the ingratitude of child or friend. To tease is to give some slight and perhaps playful annoyance. Aggravate in the sense of offend is colloquial. To provoke, literally to call out or challenge, is to begin a contest; one provokes another to violence. To affront is to offer some defiant offense or indignity, as it were, to one's face; it is somewhat less than to insult. Compare PIQUE.
Antonyms:
conciliate, content, gratify, honor, please.