offensive
Americanadjective
-
causing resentful displeasure; highly irritating, angering, or annoying.
offensive television commercials.
- Synonyms:
- unpleasant, vexatious
- Antonyms:
- pleasing
-
unpleasant or disagreeable to the sense.
an offensive odor.
- Synonyms:
- repellent, revolting, disgusting, distasteful
- Antonyms:
- pleasing
-
repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting.
an offensive remark; an offensive joke.
- Synonyms:
- disgusting, distasteful, shocking, repulsive, repellent, revolting
-
pertaining to offense or attack.
the offensive movements of their troops.
- Antonyms:
- defensive
-
characterized by attack; aggressive.
offensive warfare.
noun
-
the position or attitude of aggression or attack.
to take the offensive.
-
an aggressive movement or attack.
a carefully planned naval offensive.
adjective
-
unpleasant or disgusting, as to the senses
-
causing anger or annoyance; insulting
-
for the purpose of attack rather than defence
noun
-
an attitude or position of aggression
-
an assault, attack, or military initiative, esp a strategic one
Usage
The label Offensive is used in this dictionary to indicate that a particular term or definition is likely to be perceived as insulting by a listener or reader—an affront to that particular individual or to an entire group of like individuals—whether or not an offense was intended. Offensive is often paired with the label Disparaging, which is used to indicate that those people who use the offensive term do so to offend intentionally.
Related Words
See hateful.
Other Word Forms
- nonoffensive adjective
- nonoffensively adverb
- nonoffensiveness noun
- offensively adverb
- offensiveness noun
- overoffensive adjective
- overoffensively adverb
- overoffensiveness noun
- preoffensive adjective
- preoffensively adverb
- preoffensiveness noun
- quasi-offensive adjective
- quasi-offensively adverb
- superoffensive adjective
- superoffensively adverb
- superoffensiveness noun
- unoffensive adjective
- unoffensively adverb
- unoffensiveness noun
Etymology
Origin of offensive
First recorded in 1540–50; from Medieval Latin offēnsīvus, from Latin offēns(us) “struck against” (past participle of offendere “to strike against, displease”; offend ) + -īvus -ive
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.
It was shared by the deputy leader of Lancashire County Council, Simon Evans, who later apologised for re-posting the message and said "did not notice" the offensive text.
From BBC • Apr. 2, 2026
Karen Zacarías initially conceptualized “Destiny of Desire” as a response to offensive stereotypes.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 29, 2026
Since 2021, no team with freshmen accounting for at least 25% of their offensive output has won a championship.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 27, 2026
Jackson Lahmeyer, an evangelical pastor in Owasso, Oklahoma, is one of those religious figures who seems to enjoy being offensive.
From Slate • Mar. 26, 2026
My look or something else must have struck her as offensive, for she spoke with extreme though suppressed irritation.
From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë
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.
