offended

American  

[uh-fen-did] / əˈfɛn dɪd /

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.

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verb

1. 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

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

In a recent paper, researchers found that advisers often get offended when their clients use AI to do more research—and are less motivated to work with the clients down the road.

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

“Sorry about that. It’s Rayburn. He’s got a touch of gas,” Holly whispered and pointed to the bulldog as though he might be offended if he overheard.

From "Hope Springs" by Jaime Berry

Related Words

• angry
• annoyed
• exasperated
• insulted
• outraged