offended

[uh-fen-did]

adjective

1. feeling or expressing hurt, indignation, or irritation because of a perceived wrong or insult.

   The man replied in an offended voice, "My niece would never do anything like that!"

2. being the recipient or victim of criminal or morally repugnant behavior.

   After the referral agent and the offender speak, the offended individual is invited to speak about how the assault affected them.

3. (of a sense, taste, etc.) affected disagreeably.

   With the bright neon blue and red, the dress looked like clown garb, so my offended aesthetic sense told me to take it off.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of offend.

Other Word Forms

• offendedly adverb
• offendedness noun
• half-offended adjective
• unoffended adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of offended¹

offend ( def. ) + -ed ²

Example Sentences

Though Cosby was also an influence, he was offended by Murphy’s use of foul language in his comedy.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

But this offended many Social Democrats, as well as some moderates among his conservative bloc.

Read more on Barron's

And there’s a core in the baseball audience that is deeply offended by what they perceive as the showboating of the Latin players.

Read more on Salon

"I did apologise to the president. The president was offended," he said.

Read more on Barron's

That may explain why certain politicians are so offended by top executives’ pay: In politics, you’re rewarded, not punished, for failure.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• angry 
• annoyed 
• exasperated 
• insulted www.thesaurus.com
• outraged www.thesaurus.com