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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Recent Examples of off-putting
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
Baby ponders love in all its rejuvenating and off-putting shapes, sweating with a husband and father’s devotion but sometimes with a son’s pining for a closer connection with an oaklike and unreadable elder.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-putting
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
Baby ponders love in all its rejuvenating and off-putting shapes, sweating with a husband and father’s devotion but sometimes with a son’s pining for a closer connection with an oaklike and unreadable elder.
—Craig Jenkins, Vulture, 2 Dec. 2025
See All Example Sentences for off-putting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-putting
Adjective
-
But there was the Transformers actor, with his tattoos and pirate beard, behaving like the obnoxious guy at the bar who spoils everybody else’s night, getting into a fight, then continuing to party the next day after his high-profile arrest.—
James Hibberd,
HollywoodReporter,
27 Feb. 2026
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By and large, Kenny comes off as a nice guy, if not a smidge obnoxious.—
Jordan Hoffman,
Entertainment Weekly,
15 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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Critics at its first press screening called the film disgusting, accusing it of exploiting both its oblivious subjects and the beloved former first lady.—
Rosemary Counter,
Vanity Fair,
25 Feb. 2026
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Just last week the president tweeted a vile and disgusting image of President Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, and refuses to apologize.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
-
Trapped allergens can affect the air quality in your bedroom, triggering congestion, scalp itching and irritation, not to mention unpleasant odors.—
Kate Van Pelt,
The Spruce,
3 Mar. 2026
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So Miss Manners believes that your sister should apologize — not to her rude guest, but to the other guests, for having been subjected to such an unpleasant scene.—
Judith Martin,
Mercury News,
2 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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Perhaps the most ugly truth of human spaceflight is that the ISS is old and its days are numbered.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
6 Mar. 2026
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Okay, let’s get into the other good, bad, and ugly from episode 2 of Survivor 50, and — shameless plug alert!—
Dalton Ross,
Entertainment Weekly,
5 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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My reaction was silence and determination to make sure common sense prevailed to make sure her senior son, Jake, a top pitcher who transferred from Palm Desert to Rancho Christian, had this continuing stress resolved after an already awful ordeal engulfed him and his parents for months.—
Eric Sondheimer,
Los Angeles Times,
4 Mar. 2026
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The bullpen…what are the Texas Rangers going to do about another potentially awful bullpen?—
Tim Cowlishaw,
Dallas Morning News,
3 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
At the bottom of the Olympia delle Tofane slope, in the grandstands about 2,000 feet below, there was nothing but a sickening silence after Vonn’s crash.—
Matthew Futterman,
New York Times,
22 Feb. 2026
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The rest of us could only imagine Randall’s sickening embarrassment at needing to testify at the trial.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
18 Feb. 2026
Adjective
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News was spreading through the gym that Sage Hill had just upset Sierra Canyon 57-54 in Chatsworth in the other Open semifinal — one of the most shocking upsets in state basketball history.—
Steve Galluzzo,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Mar. 2026
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The Defense Department’s reliance on Anthropic’s AI came as a shocking realization that ultimately led to their dramatic schism, according to a top Pentagon official.—
Jason Ma,
Fortune,
7 Mar. 2026
Adjective
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One of most hideous images in American poetry, and yet one of the most memorable.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
27 Feb. 2026
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Next, law enforcement must rigorously interrogate the men and women who exchanged chummy emails with Epstein and played in his hideous sandbox.—
Amy Wallace,
Mercury News,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Off-putting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-putting. Accessed 11 Mar. 2026.
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