offend
Americanverb (used with object)
-
offends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
offended,
past participle, past
-
offending
present participle
-
to irritate, annoy, or anger; cause resentful displeasure in.
Even the hint of prejudice offends me.
- Antonyms:
- please
-
to affect (the sense, taste, etc.) disagreeably.
-
to violate or transgress (a criminal, religious, or moral law).
-
to hurt or cause pain to.
-
(in Biblical use) to cause to fall into sinful ways.
verb (used without object)
-
offends,
present (3rd person singular)
-
offended,
past participle, past
-
offending
present participle
-
to cause resentful displeasure; irritate, annoy, or anger.
a remark so thoughtless it can only offend.
-
to err in conduct; commit a sin, crime, or fault.
- Synonyms:
- trespass, transgress
verb
-
to hurt the feelings, sense of dignity, etc, of (a person)
-
(tr) to be disagreeable to; disgust
the smell offended him
-
(intr except in archaic uses) to break (a law or laws in general)
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
offendernoun
-
reoffendverb
-
overoffendverb (used with object)
-
preoffendverb (used with object)
-
offendableadjective
-
offendingadjective
-
unoffendableadjective
-
unoffendingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
offendsimple
-
offendssimple
-
have offendedperfect
-
has offendedperfect
-
am offendingprogressive
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are offendingprogressive
-
is offendingprogressive
-
have been offendingperfect progressive
-
has been offendingperfect progressive
Past
-
offendedsimple
-
had offendedperfect
-
was offendingprogressive
-
were offendingprogressive
-
had been offendingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of offend
First recorded in 1275–1325; Middle English offenden, from Middle French offendre, from Latin offendere “to strike against, displease,” from of- of- + -fendere “to strike” ( see also bane ( def. ))
Explanation
If you hurt someone's feelings, you offend that person. You might accidentally offend your friend when you joke about the worst restaurant in town, not realizing it's her favorite place to eat. If you do something that makes another person resent you, you offend them. Your friends might not mind because you're so humble, but it could offend other classmates when the teachers always pick you for awards and honors. You also offend when you cause disgust or distaste. After your week of camping — and not showering — your smell will probably offend the nose of anyone who has to sit near you.
Vocabulary lists containing offend
The Watsons Go to Birmingham
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"But I also have a complaint. If the schools and education were open to all it would be a great work for Afghanistan. I hope this doesn't offend you."
From BBC ● Aug. 24, 2026
I don’t care if the officers caught on tape didn’t intend to offend, and I don’t care what Hochman intends the message to be with his vast over-charging of Flores.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 11, 2026
Some gyms and saunas still maintain "no tattoo zones" on the grounds that certain tattoos "are too intimidating and may offend other guests".
From BBC ● May 29, 2026
A sympathetic observer might fairly wonder what the point is of a grand moral pronouncement—one issued by the pope or any religious figure—that doesn’t offend or seriously challenge honored cultural arbiters.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 27, 2026
She did not wish to offend, but a well-mannered man might be excused for showing disgust at the way the people around them were acting.
From "Mythology: Timeless Tales of Gods and Heroes" by Edith Hamilton
Coming from a family of artists, she said, it offends her that AI models train on the creative work of people who aren’t compensated for their intellectual property.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 7, 2026
“And that offends people that aren’t from here.”
From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025
At the very least, that's not something that offends people.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
“People, and particularly women, tend to kvetch and converse and complain about what offends them, and then they vote according to what affects them,” she said.
From BBC ● Sep. 7, 2024
He sniffs, as though the very smell of me offends him.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
“I’m sure they are deeply offended by my attempts, but yes, yes I do,” Losos says.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 9, 2026
“We sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt, disappointed, or offended by this incident.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
"I'm not offended by all the dumb blonde jokes because I know I'm not dumb - and I'm not blonde either."
From BBC ● Aug. 26, 2026
Some of it is theater for the recreationally offended.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 14, 2026
Some girls might have been offended by that, and at first, I did think it was kind of mean.
From "Courage to Soar" by Simone Biles
Four of those charges were of aiding and abetting the offending committed by her husband Jeffrey Donaldson.
From BBC ● Sep. 17, 2026
Jim Taylor, a former detective chief superintendent who previously led the unit, says this allows them to link organised crime gangs to offending across the country.
From BBC ● Sep. 16, 2026
Then I thought to show my colleague’s offending email to an AI, which didn’t have all my baggage of past gripes with this co-worker or past indignation at being similarly dismissed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 12, 2026
Huger wrote for instructions to Postmaster General Amos Kendall, as well as New York Postmaster Samuel Gouverneur, from whose office the offending literature had been shipped.
From Slate ● Sep. 4, 2026
Yet as she went by, she pressed a silken cloth to her nose as if to block the offending street stench.
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
