as in obnoxious
not pleasing or likable; causing you to feel dislike of someone or something
He has an off-putting manner. The restaurant's garish décor was off-putting.
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of off-putting
Affleck excels here in a tremendously off-putting role (seemingly the one he was born to play), but the film's most cogent, exciting moments come when Lonergan splits off to show us the town's bizarre side characters.
—
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Seen in this light, Chutzpah isn’t meant to be some off-putting personality quirk.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Squint, and the actor’s most off-putting moves could be attributed to his commitment to the grind, which could then encourage audiences to go see the results in action.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
The lengthy literary references are a bit off-putting in an otherwise poignant story of secrets and growth by a first-time novelist.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-putting
Kevin Jacobsen, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Jan. 2026
Seen in this light, Chutzpah isn’t meant to be some off-putting personality quirk.
—Michael Ashley, Forbes.com, 29 Jan. 2026
Squint, and the actor’s most off-putting moves could be attributed to his commitment to the grind, which could then encourage audiences to go see the results in action.
—Shirley Li, The Atlantic, 22 Dec. 2025
The lengthy literary references are a bit off-putting in an otherwise poignant story of secrets and growth by a first-time novelist.
—Sandra Dallas, Denver Post, 6 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-putting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-putting
Adjective
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One of these friends, over the last five years, has become more and more obnoxious with his late-night drinking.—
Eric Thomas,
Sun Sentinel,
3 Apr. 2026
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Headphones are needed in obnoxious 2000s music playing.—
Adam Harrington,
CBS News,
1 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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Living under an openly misogynistic president may have felt freakish in 2017, but by his second term, bigotry became yet another disgusting norm.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
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The amount of disrespect shown the Broncos is disgusting.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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The response from me is very unpleasant, and then my husband gets all uncomfortable.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
3 Apr. 2026
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Finally, a carbon filter is used to eliminate odors such as ammonia, cigarette smoke, hydrogen sulfide, and other pollutants that emit unpleasant smells.—
John R. Delaney,
PC Magazine,
2 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The outcome was already decided – an ugly display of basketball that was never competitive – but potentially losing Doncic proverbially sucked the oxygen out of the visitors’ locker room after the game.—
Benjamin Royer,
Oc Register,
3 Apr. 2026
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Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.—
Rachel Tashjian,
CNN Money,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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The only way to pull out of an awful season-opening stretch is one at-bat, one pitch, one win at a time.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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Still, outside of two games, the offense has been awful.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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In a sickening moment broadcast live after Boyes’s shot missed, Long moved quickly about, shooting many hostages.—
Graham Womack,
Sacbee.com,
3 Apr. 2026
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The feds also looked over Bied’s sickening business partnership with his co-conspirator in Indonesia, who Bied purchased multiple orangutan and Javan leopard skulls from.—
Tim Dunn,
Boston Herald,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Marin stuck to her plan of staying close until a moment that changed everything with shocking swiftness — her changing her mind and going for the green on the par-5 13th for a go-ahead birdie, and Talley adding to the sad history of collapses on the back nine at the home of the Masters.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
4 Apr. 2026
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Emma’s shocking admission rattles the entire wedding party, particularly Haim’s Rachel, whose cousin was left paralyzed by an act of gun violence.—
Chris Murphy,
Vanity Fair,
3 Apr. 2026
Adjective
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All our buildings are these hideous rectangles.—
Antonia Hitchens,
New Yorker,
6 Apr. 2026
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Unfortunately, their appearance is so hideous to ordinary flesh-and-blood creatures that looking at a Medusan is liable to induce madness and death.—
Richard Edwards,
Space.com,
2 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Off-putting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-putting. Accessed 10 Apr. 2026.
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