offended

American

[uh-fen-did] / əˈfɛn dɪd /

adjective

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!"
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.
(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

the simple past tense and past participle of offend.

Other Word Forms

half-offended adjective
offendedly adverb
offendedness noun
unoffended adjective

Etymology

Origin of offended

offend ( def. ) + -ed ²

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.

Hilton said he was also offended by the exclusion of developer Elaine Culotti, who starred in the second season of the reality show “Undercover Billionaire” and is running for governor as an independent.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 20, 2026

In one sentence he offended both the U.S. and Japan.

From Salon • Mar. 20, 2026

After that, the advisers took a survey asking how offended they were—and they were more irked when the clients got a second opinion from AI than from a human adviser.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 18, 2026

“It is OK for you to be offended by the question,” she said.

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2026

“That’s actually not for you to decide, Miche,” my dad said gently, almost offended.

From "Becoming" by Michelle Obama

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023