insultant

English

Etymology 1

Blend of insult +‎ consultant

Noun

insultant (plural insultants)

1. (business, colloquial) A consultant who is willing to criticise the organisation that they work for.
   • 2004, William R. Childs, Scott B. Martin, Wanda Stitt-Gohdes, Business and Industry: Corporate governance to entrepreneurship:

     As a consultant, he has specialized in strategy and policy for businesses, nonprofits, and government agencies around the globe. He is perhaps most famous for his direct criticisms of management, acknowledging that clients consider him a management "insultant."

   • 2008, Lu KeeHong, The 7e Way of Leaders, page 3:

     Not surrounding yourself with only the 'Yes' men and women. Invite some 'Insultants' instead of just Consultants to keep you honest. Most consultants will tell you what you want to hear […]

   • 2014, BusinessNews Publishing, Summary: The Breakthrough Company:

     Breakthroughs like having insultants around because they're prepared to buck convention and challenge the fundamental assumptions of the business. Outsiders serving as insultants are generally best because they feel no need to defer to the preferences of the CEO in order to enhance their promotion prospects.

Etymology 2

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Adjective

insultant

1. (rare) insulting

Noun

insultant (plural insultants)

1. (rare) One who delivers an insult.
   • 2013, Claudis Weyser, The Diary of an Aphorisiac:

     The insult is one of the highest art forms. It is a form of minimalism, like the minimalism of an abstract artist. The one who insults is an insultant who, rather than use a canvas, uses another person. The insultant draws lines on a person to reduce them to the person they see and want others to see; and lines which they want the insulted one to feel.

Catalan

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): (Central) [in.sulˈtan]
• IPA^(key): (Balearic, Valencia) [in.sulˈtant]
• Rhymes: -ant

Verb

insultant

1. gerund of insultar

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɛ̃.syl.tɑ̃/
• Homophone: insultants

Adjective

insultant (feminine insultante, masculine plural insultants, feminine plural insultantes)

1. insulting

Participle

insultant

1. present participle of insulter

Further reading

• “insultant”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

Latin

Pronunciation

• (Classical Latin) IPA^(key): /inˈsul.tant/, [ĩːˈs̠ʊɫ̪t̪än̪t̪]
• (modern Italianate Ecclesiastical) IPA^(key): /inˈsul.tant/, [inˈsul̪t̪än̪t̪]

Verb

īnsultant

1. third-person plural present active indicative of īnsultō