Offend Definition & Meaning - Merriam-Webster

Definition of offend ... 3 : to cause (a person or group) to feel hurt, angry, or upset by something said or done was offended by their language She carefully ... Login SignUp Hello, Games&Quizzes Thesaurus WordoftheDay Features BuyingGuide M-WBooks MyWordsMyWords ViewRecents Account LogOut offend verb SaveWord of·​fend |\ə-ˈfend \ offended;offending;offends Definitionofoffend intransitiveverb 1a :totransgress(seetransgresssensetransitive1)themoralordivinelaw:sin ifitbeasintocovethonor,Iamthemostoffendingsoulalive—WilliamShakespeare b :toviolatealaworrule:dowrong offendagainstthelaw 2a :tocausedifficulty,discomfort,orinjury tookoffhisshoeandremovedtheoffendingpebble b :tocausedislike,anger,orvexation thoughtlesswordsthatoffendneedlessly transitiveverb 1a :violate,transgress acontractnotoffendingastatute…mightstillbeinrestraintoftrade—C.A.Cooke b :tocausepainto:hurt tastelessbillboardsthatoffendtheeye 2 obsolete :tocausetosinorfall 3 :tocause(apersonorgroup)tofeelhurt,angry,orupsetbysomethingsaidordone wasoffendedbytheirlanguageShecarefullywordedhercommentssoasnottooffendanyone. OtherWordsfromoffend Synonyms ChoosetheRightSynonym MoreExampleSentences LearnMoreAboutoffend OtherWordsfromoffend offender noun Synonymsforoffend Synonyms err, fall, sin, stray, transgress, trespass, wander VisittheThesaurusforMore  ChoosetheRightSynonymforoffend offend,outrage,affront,insultmeantocausehurtfeelingsordeepresentment.offendneednotimplyanintentionalhurtingbutitmayindicatemerelyaviolationofthevictim'ssenseofwhatisproperorfitting. hopedthatmyremarkshadnotoffendedher outrageimpliesoffendingbeyondenduranceandcallingforthextremefeelings. outragedbytheiraccusations affrontimpliestreatingwithdeliberaterudenessorcontemptuousindifferencetocourtesy. deeplyaffrontedbyhiscallousness insultsuggestsdeliberatelycausinghumiliation,hurtpride,orshame. insultedeveryguestattheparty ExamplesofoffendinaSentence Hiscommentsaboutminoritygroupsoffendedmanyofus. Shehadcarefullywordedhercommentssoasnottooffendanyone. Itoffendsmethatyouwouldmakesucharemark. Don'tworry.Iwasn'toffended. Ifeltalittleoffendedbytheirlackofrespect. Somepeopleareoffendedbythesong'slyrics. I'msorry,Ididn'tmeantooffendyou. I'msorry,Ididn'tmeantooffend. SeeMore RecentExamplesontheWeb Sayinganythingthatcanoffendpeopleorperpetuateanystereotypedoesnothelpbuildrelationshipsandsuccess. — ExpertPanel®,Forbes,7Dec.2021 Warnerestablishedhimselfearlyonasadefenderoffreespeech,proclaiminghisrighttooffend. — JasonNewman,RollingStone,14Nov.2021 Thosewhodropoutaremorethantwiceaslikelytore-offend,comparedwiththosewhofinish,oneTexasstudyfound. — EmilieEaton,SanAntonioExpress-News,3Nov.2021 Thatdoesn'toffendpeople,thatthosekidsseethat? — EddieMorales,MilwaukeeJournalSentinel,22Oct.2021 Mostofthemoffendtheself-righteousright,whichcan'tbearthatstudentsshouldlearnaboutAmerica'shistoryofracialoppressionandbigotry,orreadpositivedepictionsofLGBTQpeople,orwitnessthenakedfaceofpovertyandprejudice. — JayParini,CNN,17Sep.2021 Corporationsaredeathlyafraidofsayingordoingsomethingthatmayoffendcertaingroupsofpeople. — JackKelly,Forbes,21Oct.2021 Andsohumanenterprise,followingthisview,coulddamageanddestroythematteroftheworldandoffendnogod,valueorsacredplace. — KathleenDeanMoore,TheConversation,20Oct.2021 ButithadincreasinglybeencalledoutforcensoringpostsandaccountsthatmightoffendBeijing. — PatrickFrater,Variety,15Oct.2021 Theseexamplesentencesareselectedautomaticallyfromvariousonlinenewssourcestoreflectcurrentusageoftheword'offend.'ViewsexpressedintheexamplesdonotrepresenttheopinionofMerriam-Websteroritseditors.Sendusfeedback. SeeMore FirstKnownUseofoffend 14thcentury,inthemeaningdefinedatintransitivesense1a HistoryandEtymologyforoffend MiddleEnglishoffenden"toassail,violate,displease,hurtthefeelingsof,"borrowedfromAnglo-French&Latin;Anglo-Frenchoffendre,borrowedfromLatinoffendere"tostrikeagainst,stumble(upon),trouble,breakarule,displease,annoy,"fromof-,assimilatedvariantofob-ob-+-fenderepresumably,"tostrike,hit"(unattestedwithoutprefixes)—moreatdefend LearnMoreAboutoffend Shareoffend PosttheDefinitionofoffendtoFacebook SharetheDefinitionofoffendonTwitter TimeTravelerforoffend Thefirstknownuseofoffendwas inthe14thcentury Seemorewordsfromthesamecentury DictionaryEntriesNearoffend Offenbach offend offendedly SeeMoreNearbyEntries  PhrasesRelatedtooffend offendtheeye repeatoffender youngoffender Statisticsforoffend LastUpdated 10Dec2021 Look-upPopularity CitethisEntry “Offend.”Merriam-Webster.comDictionary,Merriam-Webster,https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offend.Accessed31Dec.2021. Style:MLA MLA Chicago APA Merriam-Webster MoreDefinitionsforoffend offend verb EnglishLanguageLearnersDefinitionofoffend :tocause(apersonorgroup)tofeelhurt,angry,orupsetbysomethingsaidordone :tobeunpleasantto(someoneorsomething) :todowrong:tobeagainstwhatpeoplebelieveisacceptableorproper SeethefulldefinitionforoffendintheEnglishLanguageLearnersDictionary offend verb of·​fend |\ə-ˈfend \ offended;offending KidsDefinitionofoffend 1 :tohurtthefeelingsoforinsult Sheuseslanguagethatoffendspeople. 2 :todowrong Isthereleasedprisonerlikelytooffendagain? offend intransitiveverb of·​fend |\ə-ˈfend \ Legal Definitionofoffend :tocommitanoffense OtherWordsfromoffend offender noun MorefromMerriam-Websteronoffend Nglish:TranslationofoffendforSpanishSpeakers BritannicaEnglish:TranslationofoffendforArabicSpeakers WORDOFTHEDAY zeitgeist SeeDefinitionsandExamples» GetWordoftheDaydailyemail! 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