off-putting

adjective

Definition of off-puttingnext
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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of off-putting This may appear as off-putting calcium rings, or cause more extensive damage to the material. — Jamie Cuccinelli, Martha Stewart, 6 July 2026 And yet for God’s sake, just look at the man—at his dispiriting attempts at humor, his weirdly off-putting outfits, his incessant posting of banalities and faux profundities and extreme-right disinformation on social media. — Mark O’Connell, The New York Review of Books, 4 July 2026 This tangled relationship between Lestat and Armand, and all the guilt Lestat carries from it, provides a major breakthrough for Molloy’s documentary, and the journalist reacts with giddy, off-putting glee. — Roxana Hadadi, Vulture, 23 June 2026 Political experts contend that messages that seem contradictory to a candidate’s background, as well as drowning voters with incessant ads, can be jarring and off-putting to the electorate. — Seema Mehta, Los Angeles Times, 10 June 2026 See All Example Sentences for off-putting
Recent Examples of Synonyms for off-putting
  1. obnoxious
  2. disgusting
  3. unpleasant
  4. ugly
  5. awful
  6. sickening
  7. shocking
  8. hideous
Adjective
  • Whether the actor is improvising or sticking closely to the script by Miles Hubley and Tommy White, Wilson’s talent and experience maintain the charm of a character who practically talks nonstop but in other hands could simply be obnoxious.
    — Todd Gilchrist, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Something specific that’s not too obnoxious and out of the box.
    — The Editors, Robb Report, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of obnoxious
Adjective
  • These guys are disgusting over the radio in the heat of battle.
    — Zach Dean OutKick, FOXNews.com, 7 Sep. 2026
  • The wealth disparity and how competitive sports enables opportunity hoarding is just disgusting.
    — Kyle Newman, Denver Post, 7 Sep. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • There was a lot of work on the medical cases to make the investigations complex and realistic, but there was also an entry point built around a strong, funny, unpleasant character, completely at odds with her return to her roots.
    — Roberto Prieto, Variety, 9 Sep. 2026
  • Are those seats empty for a neutral reason or an unpleasant reason?
    — Bruce Handy, New Yorker, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of unpleasant
Adjective
  • But the core four aren’t the only transplants from Woodsboro, as Ghostface soon rears its ugly head, directly targeting them and whomever else is caught up in their orbit.
    — Michael Lee Simpson, Entertainment Weekly, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Especially if ugly seasons like last year pile up and the problem continues to snowball.
    — James Mirtle, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • To Morrison, as well as to the filmmakers, this awful backstory makes something cathartic of his accomplishment.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • So the fact that there was this whole section of gay actors who weren’t allowed to do that is awful.
    — Glenn Whipp, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Carter’s sickening spree ultimately came to an end after he was arrested by Detective Pete Willis.
    — Josh Weiss, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Months later, with vaccination rates still dangerously low, measles broke out, sickening thousands.
    — Ali Swenson, Fortune, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of sickening
Adjective
  • That whole sequence with Troy and Susan at the start of this episode is just … shocking.
    — Noel Murray, Vulture, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Other films have handled the shocking deaths of romantic leads with more grace — Anne Hathaway riding her bike in front of a certain semi-truck in 2011 comes to mind — even while doing objectively less to ensure that they’re understood.
    — Wilson Chapman, IndieWire, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of shocking
Adjective
  • These flashbacks betray where writer-director-cinematographer-editor Tsukamoto’s filmmaking interests really lie, which is in the gruesome recreation of hideous acts of barbarism and cruelty.
    — Jessica Kiang, Variety, 5 Sep. 2026
  • At this point in the operation, even formerly adorable homes begin to look hideous.
    — Nicola Twilley, New Yorker, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of hideous

Browse Nearby Words

off one's rocker
off-putting
offs
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Cite this Entry

“Off-putting.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/off-putting. Accessed 13 Sep. 2026.

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