Canadian poet William Chapman once said, “Words cut deeper than knives. A knife can be pulled out, words are embedded into our souls”. That rings true with every insult, and most of us can likely attest to that. Whether it’s bullying at school, uncalled-for remarks on the street, or other outbursts of people’s hostility, it’s nearly impossible to avoid it.
Some spiteful comments stick with the receiver for years, even decades after. This has been pointed out by Twitter’s community members, who have answered the user Zaza Man’s question: what’s an insult they’ll never forget. Their heart-wrenching answers show just how much damage a word can do; scroll down to find them and see for yourself.
In order to better understand the subtleties of how certain wording can affect a person and what drives someone to use insulting language, Bored Panda has reached out to the professor of rhetoric and linguistics at Soka University, James Williams, PhD. He was kind enough to answer a few of our questions; you will find the interview in the text below.
Image credits: Zazamyodor
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Professor of rhetoric and linguistics James Williams, PhD, explained how certain wording can influence a person: “Various studies have shown that positive thoughts and words have a powerful effect on the body, causing the brain to release endorphins and serotonin—hormones that reduce stress, relieve both physical and emotional pain, and produce a sense of well-being.
“Given that we are a highly social species, and given that living in groups, whether family-based or not, can result in difficulties and even conflict, there are incentives to use positive language when interacting with others,” he told Bored Panda.
“With good reason, many linguistic and psychological studies have explored the following question: If positive language results in positive thoughts and feelings, what are the effects of negative language? Various studies have found that negative language activates areas of the brain that are associated with mental distress and physical pain.”
Insults can have a long-lasting effect; it’s not just the moment you receive one that hurts. Quite a few examples on the list spoke about insults from years ago, which the receivers carry with them to this day. That reveals how deeply negative comments can ingrain into our brain.
Research reveals that hurtful words trigger sensations in our brain that can be compared to a “mini slap in the face”. By using electroencephalography (EEG) and skin conductance recordings, researchers determined that even under unnatural circumstances, such as a lab setting and no actual human interaction, insults have a strong negative effect on the receiver, which might not wear off even if repeated several times.
Leaving my grandma alone at supermarkets used to mean I would come back and she would have a new best friend who knew absolutely everything about my life
Who wouldn't want to look like a police sergeant in the Bahamas?? I WANT THAT SHIRT.
The fact that repeating insults doesn’t make them any less painful doesn’t sound all that surprising. In a way, when repeated, they become bullying, which, sadly, a lot of people have gone through at some point in their lives.
To make matters worse, it often happens at school, around the age young minds soak everything up like a sponge. Statistics show that one in five students aged 12 to 18 have experienced it. And kids can be surprisingly cruel when it comes to concocting some of the most painful word combinations.
While slavery is not comparable, I'm white so the comments I get from my mum is not at all comparable to your mum's comment, but my god they would get along our mums. Mine is awful for saying s****y things about my clothes, she does it to my sisters as well. Little comments like "oh wow that is such a lovely top, it's a shame you don't have the figure for it. It's been this way forever.
In an article for Psychology Today, clinical psychologist Barbara Greenberg pointed out that most people vividly remember their childhood bullies. She provided possible explanations for that, such as, for instance, the fact that the bullies confirmed certain negative aspects they were already aware of before. Or they might have destroyed the receiver’s safe zone or planted a seed of self-doubt.
It would be funnier if she kept looking back and forth between you and the pic
Another article in Psychology Today, written by Dr. Nigel Barber, pointed out that hurtful remarks are often motivated by anger that stems from insecurity about a certain status. Since a lot of insults are reactive, they might be evoked by real slights from people around the bully, as well as imaginative ones that are perceived as threats to their position.
Dr. James Williams pointed out that insults can negatively affect both sides of the far-from-pleasant conversation. “What should be understood is that this consequence affects both the target of negative language and the speaker. The more intensely the person uses negative language, the more agitated and angry he or she becomes through a psychophysiological feedback loop,” he told Bored Panda.
See, this is the kind of statement that I say to people all the time. It's funny as f**k and not really offensive, just strange.
That's nothing. A long time ago, a girlfriend took me ( a young man) to meet her parents. Straight away they said to her, 'Darling why didn't you tell us you were a lesbian?'
In Psychology Today, Dr. Nigel Barber also mentioned that a lot of hurtful rhetoric happens in the online world nowadays—it typically brings less consequences than it would in real life. According to Pew Research Center, as much as 25% of people have faced harassment online. It also pointed out that 75% of them experienced such troublesome situations over social media channels.
One of the reasons bitter internet users feel more at ease insulting others online is anonymity. Such keyboard warriors feel safe corresponding under their witty usernames, which shield them from consequences that might accompany harsh words said face to face.
“Some research has found that the anonymity that characterizes the internet automatically increases the aggressive linguistic behavior of participants,” professor of rhetoric and linguistics James Williams pointed out.
“The process is associated with what is called deindividuation—which is the breakdown of the social and inner constraints that inhibit anti-social behavior. Deindividuation exercises a powerful effect on the internet because even if users post their names on a given internet platform, the platform characteristics and the inability to link user names to known individuals increase anonymity and encourage aggressive behavior.”
To be fair, Rihanna has a huge forehead, so maybe this was a backhanded compliment
Pew Research Center revealed that the vast majority (86%) of internet users agree that the online world enables people to stay more anonymous than they would be in real life. Moreover, 93% of them believe that the online environment encourages users to be more critical compared to how they would be offline.
“Most platforms allow for anonymous participation, which strips the normal social restrictions and guidelines that regulate and control personal interactions in the real world,” Dr. Williams told Bored Panda. “Instead of facing consequences for unacceptable language, those who use graphic and abusive language on internet platforms are rewarded with a ‘like’ and the resulting feel-good serotonin.
“These rewards trigger the same oxytocin and dopamine receptors as positive language even though the linguistic reward is essentially negative. The result is a feedback loop: to generate more ‘likes’, participants are motivated to use increasingly negative language.”
Well at least you don't have two left feet - You'd be wearing 'flop flops.
Critique expressed in the form of insults can greatly disturb the receiver even if the slights seem minor (known as microaggressions) or indirect. Research carried out by Dr. Brea Banks revealed that repeated insults—often presented as backhanded compliments or implications—negatively affect the receiver’s cognitive abilities.
I once sat down on a park bench and someone just dropped money on me and said "buy some food with it"... truly says something about how I dress
Psychology Spot suggested that another reason why people insult others is their belief that the target is at fault for a certain unfavorable situation. Whether it’s something disappointing, infuriating, or causing other negative emotions, the annoyed ones express their discontent and relieve their bubbling emotions by spitting out hurtful words.
Psychology Spot also pointed out some of people’s main features that get insulted the most—uselessness, stupidity, moral depravity, and peculiarity.
It should not put you off light skinned girls, just bitches. The love of your life could be light skinned and you wouldn't look twice because of a s****y comment. X
Insulting others is rarely ever a good idea; however, if at any point you have to fight fire with fire, you can use this list to equip yourself with some colorful retorts. Or browse this collection of savage insults that can be disguised as compliments.
Don't take this in the wrong way, but... I do see a few similarities.
I don't know the reference but truth be told you're cute as heck
A.V. is a professional basketball player in the NBA and is admittedly goofy looking but its far from an insult in my opinion.
Note: this post originally had 96 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
I once got told by a customer who I refused to serve "well you look like a lesbian and your hair is stupid" I laughed my a*s off as he was escorted out of the pub by security. For the record I refused service coz him and his mates were drunk and being incredibly rude to us staff
For the insults received by children from their parents: half the pain can be that it goes denied/unacknowledged. I know it's the case for me and some of my fellow pandas here. We don't need their confirmation (sure would be nice tho)
Some of these insults here can be soul-destroying. As someone who BUILT BACK her soul, I can tell each of you - it can be done. Be the person to yourself you wish others had been to you. Their blindness/rejection re person you are - as wonderful as you can be - is THEIR LOSS. No one can define you. YOU DEFINE YOURSELF. Take back your power. A bad a*s female JAG once wrote- and I repeat it over and over as I've never forgotten: "Blood is kin; Love makes family."
Load More Replies...I'm from MA but went to college in TX. I got a lot of "bless your heart" comments over those 4 years. It wasn't until I was safely back home for a decade or more that I discovered that it's an insult. 🤣
Aw, bless your heart. (To explain to others who may not know, it means, "Wow, you're clueless, aren't you?" As in, "Jesus has a special place in his heart for the mentally feeble and children, so you must be very special to Him.")
Load More Replies...I remembered when I was a freshman in high school a senior yelled out 'who let the wolf out' (I had/have hairy legs). I stopped looked at him and said 'At least I hit puberty'
Yeah I never see the reason to insult someone. I've never done it, except to siblings, who were provoking me.
I don't know why -- probably because I take it back so well -- but my college friends always seemed to enjoy my insults. Or maybe because it showed them that I "got" them well enough to hit hard but not hurtfully. I started feeling like Rodney Dangerfield, playing to an audience.
Load More Replies...The worst one I ever heard was directed at me. "Did your mom have any kids that lived??" Matter of fact my parents lost two children in infancy and almost lost me. The guy was lucky I didn't split his face open. Use insults responsibly folks.
Once while young and walking in heels that quickly became uncomfortable a stranger passing me commented "you must have had a good night, you're walking like John Wayne!" I was in so much pain but couldn't help laughing.
Ha! That's funny... I know exactly how that achy-feet-in-heels walk goes.
Load More Replies...Today a kid in my band told me I look like I drink warm water and I am still recovering
... bulimic? Dang. Tell 'em you only use it to make hot coffee to help you deal with idjits like them.
Load More Replies...Some of these were funny/harmless; but even as I laughed, I wanted to cry at the crushing ones. Resilience is a CHOICE. Make your detractors, whoever they are, UNIMPORTANT in the larger scheme of things and to the rhythm of your life. Dance to your own inner music.
Aye. Grow up with any feature out of the current beauty trend, and you must be resilient. Honing a sense of humor to a fine, sharp edge is such an asset. Still, those insults are just a reflection of the fears and weaknesses within those bullies. It isn't about you ...never was. It's about them.
Load More Replies...When our daughter was 4 we had the TV on and Steve Martin was talking. He listed names for breasts. Boobs, torpedos, fun packs, Hooters. The next day her dad walked her down the playschool hall, passed a sturdy woman and our kid points at the lady and says "Look Dad! Fat Hooters!"
Early eighties and I was 20 yrs old. Standing in line at the post office with a heavy assed franking machine(used to stamp postage on letters in many offices back in the day and had to be paid at post office before it would work on credit in the machine). Guy behind the counter yells out to a crowded post office "someone let that little 5 foot nothing girl with that big heavy machine through to the front please". Gee thanks a bunch.
My 5' 0" (1.5 m) wife HATES when my parents offer to reach stuff for her.
Load More Replies...Single parent at 30, working 35 hrs/week, returned to university to get a degree because my parents told me I should. My children and I lived with my parents at this time, I paid rent, bought our food, and never went out to have "me" time unless my kids were visiting their dad. So, I'm at university, and in some classes, I had to work in a group with other students. I lived near the uni, so occasionally I invited my study group to come to my house. Occasionally, my group included men. My parents would often insinuate that I was f**king these guys, though they were nearly 10 yrs younger than me. They didn't accept that at a co-ed uni, males and females could study together without having sex. My parents also didn't understand the internet which was dial-up in 2000. So, they were unhappy I'm blocking their phone line to access study materials, but if I go to the library on campus, I must be having sex with my peers at the university. This was the mindf*ck. I was damned whether if I did my school work at home or at school. And they were the ones who insisted I should return to uni and get a degree to get a better job.
My sister and I are non-identical twins. She is "the pretty one." (I don't think I'm ugly, but she's definitely more attractive than I am.) When we were kids, one of the neighborhood kids liked to play with us because she was a few years older and could boss us around. She used to turn to my sister and say, "Stephie, you are SO CUTE!" Then she'd turn to me and say, "Laura, Stephie is SO MUCH CUTER than you!"
What a mean little wench! I hope she gets sand in her shoes.
Load More Replies...We were at a family party and there was the uncle idiot and I'd not seen him since my wedding day. He turned to me and said "well, you're not as fat as you were at your wedding" so yeah. Thanks for that.
Best used against me: the college roommate who said, "you're not crazy. You're what epidemiologists call 'a carrier'... the kid in high school who couldn't decide whether to make fun of my nose, my ears, my mouth, my chin or whatever so settled on calling me "facial features." the recovering drug user who told me why he never offered spacey me drugs: "I figured it would be redundant."
I'm not including the thousand zingers my son gets off, like saying, "Do you have any favorite rock bands who aren't mostly dead?" Or when I still instinctively grab his hand to cross the street, he tells me, "That's OK, mister... I'll help you cross the street."
Load More Replies...I switched schools and while visiting my old school, I asked a guy I used to like (and I was semi friends with cause he liked his privacy) of he missed me. He replied "Honestly? No, I didn't even think of you"
I read my all-time favorite insult in a book when I was in high school. One character is playing the piano next door, and the main character suddenly yells out "MAY YOUR PIANO BE FOREVER OUT OF TUNE!" I've yelled that at a lot of (non-piano owning, completely random) people over the years...
Some of the people in these posts could have only come from the utter depths of actual hell and Iam so sorry for everyone who encountered them in their journey through life. Horrid monsters
Yep. I feel for them because I went though this. Yet... A chrysalis uses darkness to transform into a butterfly -- so when you emerge BETTER than your enemies, it's so sweet. Always, a nectar to your soul. Someone once said (I try to always obtain lessons from others' experiences): "When you go through hell, make hell pay."
Load More Replies...I have always thought this one beautiful... "I need you to do something for me. Find a scrabble set and eat all the tiles with letters on them. Then, find the strongest laxatives that you can and take them. Wait for a while until you have shat out a bunch of tiles and send me what they say. I want you to do this because it will probably make more sense than anything you will say intentionally, you illiterate son of a b***h."
I was called "dog face" over and over again by a boy in my class in grade 6. To this day I don't know what made him bully me. It was incessant. Happened in the early. 90's, I felt like no one helped me at the time.
All through grade school I was humiliated and SH by one kid. It was years before I realized that no 6 year old should know anatomical parts and what they did during intercourse. Not in 1955. He was being terribly abused at home. Currently doing life sentence in prison. Should have been his parents in that cell.
Load More Replies...There was this one boy when I was in grade 7 (he was in grade 9) and he called me “Vertically Challenged.” I’m 5’2” and I was 5’0” at the time. He was great and I will never forget it
Any time someone would say "I'm sorry" to my dad he would always reply, "I know, but the rest of your family is very well thought of." This was my favorite comeback my dad would say. I miss him.
I witnessed a husband berating his wife at a table in front of a couple of their friends. She walked away from the table in tears, and one of his table-mates said, "You know, Chris, I must compliment you. You made a much better choice of spouse than your wife did."
Hi, Justin Trouble. Congrats for this lame user name. Do you wanna battle lil bit with me? We shout our most hurting insult-lines at each other. There are just the limitations of your solitary half-dead braincell.
Load More Replies...I once got told by a customer who I refused to serve "well you look like a lesbian and your hair is stupid" I laughed my a*s off as he was escorted out of the pub by security. For the record I refused service coz him and his mates were drunk and being incredibly rude to us staff
For the insults received by children from their parents: half the pain can be that it goes denied/unacknowledged. I know it's the case for me and some of my fellow pandas here. We don't need their confirmation (sure would be nice tho)
Some of these insults here can be soul-destroying. As someone who BUILT BACK her soul, I can tell each of you - it can be done. Be the person to yourself you wish others had been to you. Their blindness/rejection re person you are - as wonderful as you can be - is THEIR LOSS. No one can define you. YOU DEFINE YOURSELF. Take back your power. A bad a*s female JAG once wrote- and I repeat it over and over as I've never forgotten: "Blood is kin; Love makes family."
Load More Replies...I'm from MA but went to college in TX. I got a lot of "bless your heart" comments over those 4 years. It wasn't until I was safely back home for a decade or more that I discovered that it's an insult. 🤣
Aw, bless your heart. (To explain to others who may not know, it means, "Wow, you're clueless, aren't you?" As in, "Jesus has a special place in his heart for the mentally feeble and children, so you must be very special to Him.")
Load More Replies...I remembered when I was a freshman in high school a senior yelled out 'who let the wolf out' (I had/have hairy legs). I stopped looked at him and said 'At least I hit puberty'
Yeah I never see the reason to insult someone. I've never done it, except to siblings, who were provoking me.
I don't know why -- probably because I take it back so well -- but my college friends always seemed to enjoy my insults. Or maybe because it showed them that I "got" them well enough to hit hard but not hurtfully. I started feeling like Rodney Dangerfield, playing to an audience.
Load More Replies...The worst one I ever heard was directed at me. "Did your mom have any kids that lived??" Matter of fact my parents lost two children in infancy and almost lost me. The guy was lucky I didn't split his face open. Use insults responsibly folks.
Once while young and walking in heels that quickly became uncomfortable a stranger passing me commented "you must have had a good night, you're walking like John Wayne!" I was in so much pain but couldn't help laughing.
Ha! That's funny... I know exactly how that achy-feet-in-heels walk goes.
Load More Replies...Today a kid in my band told me I look like I drink warm water and I am still recovering
... bulimic? Dang. Tell 'em you only use it to make hot coffee to help you deal with idjits like them.
Load More Replies...Some of these were funny/harmless; but even as I laughed, I wanted to cry at the crushing ones. Resilience is a CHOICE. Make your detractors, whoever they are, UNIMPORTANT in the larger scheme of things and to the rhythm of your life. Dance to your own inner music.
Aye. Grow up with any feature out of the current beauty trend, and you must be resilient. Honing a sense of humor to a fine, sharp edge is such an asset. Still, those insults are just a reflection of the fears and weaknesses within those bullies. It isn't about you ...never was. It's about them.
Load More Replies...When our daughter was 4 we had the TV on and Steve Martin was talking. He listed names for breasts. Boobs, torpedos, fun packs, Hooters. The next day her dad walked her down the playschool hall, passed a sturdy woman and our kid points at the lady and says "Look Dad! Fat Hooters!"
Early eighties and I was 20 yrs old. Standing in line at the post office with a heavy assed franking machine(used to stamp postage on letters in many offices back in the day and had to be paid at post office before it would work on credit in the machine). Guy behind the counter yells out to a crowded post office "someone let that little 5 foot nothing girl with that big heavy machine through to the front please". Gee thanks a bunch.
My 5' 0" (1.5 m) wife HATES when my parents offer to reach stuff for her.
Load More Replies...Single parent at 30, working 35 hrs/week, returned to university to get a degree because my parents told me I should. My children and I lived with my parents at this time, I paid rent, bought our food, and never went out to have "me" time unless my kids were visiting their dad. So, I'm at university, and in some classes, I had to work in a group with other students. I lived near the uni, so occasionally I invited my study group to come to my house. Occasionally, my group included men. My parents would often insinuate that I was f**king these guys, though they were nearly 10 yrs younger than me. They didn't accept that at a co-ed uni, males and females could study together without having sex. My parents also didn't understand the internet which was dial-up in 2000. So, they were unhappy I'm blocking their phone line to access study materials, but if I go to the library on campus, I must be having sex with my peers at the university. This was the mindf*ck. I was damned whether if I did my school work at home or at school. And they were the ones who insisted I should return to uni and get a degree to get a better job.
My sister and I are non-identical twins. She is "the pretty one." (I don't think I'm ugly, but she's definitely more attractive than I am.) When we were kids, one of the neighborhood kids liked to play with us because she was a few years older and could boss us around. She used to turn to my sister and say, "Stephie, you are SO CUTE!" Then she'd turn to me and say, "Laura, Stephie is SO MUCH CUTER than you!"
What a mean little wench! I hope she gets sand in her shoes.
Load More Replies...We were at a family party and there was the uncle idiot and I'd not seen him since my wedding day. He turned to me and said "well, you're not as fat as you were at your wedding" so yeah. Thanks for that.
Best used against me: the college roommate who said, "you're not crazy. You're what epidemiologists call 'a carrier'... the kid in high school who couldn't decide whether to make fun of my nose, my ears, my mouth, my chin or whatever so settled on calling me "facial features." the recovering drug user who told me why he never offered spacey me drugs: "I figured it would be redundant."
I'm not including the thousand zingers my son gets off, like saying, "Do you have any favorite rock bands who aren't mostly dead?" Or when I still instinctively grab his hand to cross the street, he tells me, "That's OK, mister... I'll help you cross the street."
Load More Replies...I switched schools and while visiting my old school, I asked a guy I used to like (and I was semi friends with cause he liked his privacy) of he missed me. He replied "Honestly? No, I didn't even think of you"
I read my all-time favorite insult in a book when I was in high school. One character is playing the piano next door, and the main character suddenly yells out "MAY YOUR PIANO BE FOREVER OUT OF TUNE!" I've yelled that at a lot of (non-piano owning, completely random) people over the years...
Some of the people in these posts could have only come from the utter depths of actual hell and Iam so sorry for everyone who encountered them in their journey through life. Horrid monsters
Yep. I feel for them because I went though this. Yet... A chrysalis uses darkness to transform into a butterfly -- so when you emerge BETTER than your enemies, it's so sweet. Always, a nectar to your soul. Someone once said (I try to always obtain lessons from others' experiences): "When you go through hell, make hell pay."
Load More Replies...I have always thought this one beautiful... "I need you to do something for me. Find a scrabble set and eat all the tiles with letters on them. Then, find the strongest laxatives that you can and take them. Wait for a while until you have shat out a bunch of tiles and send me what they say. I want you to do this because it will probably make more sense than anything you will say intentionally, you illiterate son of a b***h."
I was called "dog face" over and over again by a boy in my class in grade 6. To this day I don't know what made him bully me. It was incessant. Happened in the early. 90's, I felt like no one helped me at the time.
All through grade school I was humiliated and SH by one kid. It was years before I realized that no 6 year old should know anatomical parts and what they did during intercourse. Not in 1955. He was being terribly abused at home. Currently doing life sentence in prison. Should have been his parents in that cell.
Load More Replies...There was this one boy when I was in grade 7 (he was in grade 9) and he called me “Vertically Challenged.” I’m 5’2” and I was 5’0” at the time. He was great and I will never forget it
Any time someone would say "I'm sorry" to my dad he would always reply, "I know, but the rest of your family is very well thought of." This was my favorite comeback my dad would say. I miss him.
I witnessed a husband berating his wife at a table in front of a couple of their friends. She walked away from the table in tears, and one of his table-mates said, "You know, Chris, I must compliment you. You made a much better choice of spouse than your wife did."
Hi, Justin Trouble. Congrats for this lame user name. Do you wanna battle lil bit with me? We shout our most hurting insult-lines at each other. There are just the limitations of your solitary half-dead braincell.
Load More Replies...