Showing results for no offense. Search instead for to offend.

no offense

Idioms

Please don't feel insulted, I don't mean to offend you, as in No offense, but I think you're mistaken. This expression, first recorded in 1829, generally accompanies a statement that could be regarded as insulting but is not meant to be, as in the example.

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.

Not to offend our Lone Star friends, but so far this is all hat and no cattle.

From Barron's • May 1, 2026

It’s not that Shriver is trying to offend people or be contrarian.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 31, 2026

She’s over wasting time plucking chin hairs, searching for brain fog-induced lost reading glasses and — most of all — withholding her opinions so as not to offend others.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 20, 2026

Jabril said in a post on X a day after the incident that he did not mean to offend the country.

From BBC • Dec. 18, 2025

Like I’ve personally done something to offend them.

From "Hurricane Child" by Kheryn Callender

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