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
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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
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offendernoun
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reoffendverb
-
overoffendverb (used with object)
-
preoffendverb (used with object)
-
offendableadjective
-
offendingadjective
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unoffendableadjective
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unoffendingadjective
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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offendsimple
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offendssimple
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have offendedperfect
-
has offendedperfect
-
am offendingprogressive
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are offendingprogressive
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is offendingprogressive
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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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"Still I Rise" by Maya Angelou
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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 more than that, ‘Are we doing things that could actually offend them?’
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 28, 2026
"They rarely make public statements or organise events. I genuinely can't think of anything they could have done to offend the government."
From BBC ● Aug. 21, 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
He added that education, rather than "punitive punishment", is the solution to children displaying discriminatory behaviour where it comes from a "lack of understanding and without intention to offend".
From BBC ● May 26, 2026
The rusalka holding Anya stroked Anya’s hair; Anya was torn between trying to be pleasant so she didn’t offend the spirits and screaming until she lost her voice.
From Anya and the Dragon by Sofiya Pasternack
That’s “diworsification”—ideas watered down to the lowest common denominator, the least innovative option that offends no one.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 26, 2025
At the very least, that's not something that offends people.
From Salon ● Sep. 30, 2024
Right now, platforms can take down vile and harmful content when it offends their terms of service.
From Slate ● Sep. 29, 2023
It’s not the hypocrisy of high-priced coaches that offends me most, but the exploitation by the richest league in the nation.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 8, 2023
“My mockery offends you? My people would welcome your laughter in place of this barbarity.”
From "Six of Crows" by Leigh Bardugo
It is not the first time O'Leary has offended people while talking about his business.
From BBC ● Sep. 11, 2026
“We sincerely apologize to everyone who was hurt, disappointed, or offended by this incident.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 27, 2026
She’s a little rain cloud of a person, dour and humorless, though perhaps rightly offended by being passed over.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The judge found Day had "little insight into your offending or any real remorse", but he noted he had not offended since the Big Ben incident and had strong personal mitigation including failing eyesight.
From BBC ● Jul. 27, 2026
But when I confront him, he is offended.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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
The revelation comes a month after Police Scotland told the BBC there had been no "missed opportunities over the years" to identify Greer's offending sooner.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
It said it had "provided answers to questions relating to Alan Greer's offending during the course of his police career" and did not believe it had been answering questions about his police vetting record.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
It’s because we are terrified of offending anyone by leaving them off the invite list.
From "Americanized" by Sara Saedi
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.
