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Affront vs Demean - What's the difference?

affront | demean |

As nouns the difference between affront and demean

is that affront is while demean is (archaic) management; treatment or demean can be demesne.

As a verb demean is

to debase; to lower; to degrade or demean can be to manage; to conduct; to treat.

affront

English

(wikipedia affront)

Verb

(en verb)
  • To insult intentionally, especially openly.
  • * Addison
    • How can anyone imagine that the fathers would have dared to affront the wife of Aurelius?
  • To meet defiantly; to confront.
    • to affront death
  • * 1978 , (Lawrence Durrell), Livia'', Faber & Faber 1992 (''Avignon Quintet ), p. 436:
    • Avignon was beginning to settle down for the night – that long painful stretch of time which must somehow be affronted .
  • (obsolete) To meet or encounter face to face.
  • * Holland
    • All the sea-coasts do affront the Levant.
  • * Shakespeare
    • That he, as 'twere by accident, may here / Affront Ophelia.

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • An open or intentional offense, slight, or insult.
    • Such behavior is an affront to society.
  • (obsolete) A hostile encounter or meeting.

    • Synonyms

    * See also

    demean

    English

    Etymology 1

    (1595) From . Compare English (m).

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To debase; to lower; to degrade.
  • * Thackeray
    • Her son would demean himself by a marriage with an artist's daughter.
  • To humble, humble oneself; to humiliate.
  • To mortify.
    • Synonyms
    * debase * lower * degrade

    Etymology 2

    From (etyl) .

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • To manage; to conduct; to treat.
  • * Milton
    • [Our] clergy have with violence demeaned the matter.
  • To conduct; to behave; to comport; followed by the reflexive pronoun.
  • * Shakespeare
    • They have demeaned themselves / Like men born to renown by life or death.
  • * Clarendon
    • They answered that they should demean themselves according to their instructions.

    Noun

  • (archaic) Management; treatment.
  • * Spenser
    • vile demean and usage bad
  • (archaic) Behavior; conduct; bearing; demeanor.
  • * 1596 , (Edmund Spenser), The Faerie Queene , V.5:
  • *:‘When thou hast all this doen, then bring me newes / Of his demeane […].’
  • * West
    • with grave demean and solemn vanity

    Related terms

    * demeanor

    Etymology 3

    Var. of demesne.

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • demesne.
  • resources; means.

    • Anagrams

    * * *