offenses

noun

variants or offences
plural of offense
1
as in crimes
a breaking of a moral or legal code wartime offenses that are crimes against all of humanity

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2
as in assaults
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence combat casualties grew enormously as the weapons of offense became far more technologically advanced than defensive armor

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in insults
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings a diplomat never deliberately gives offense

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4
as in angers
the feeling of being offended or resentful after a slight or indignity my mother was prone to take offense even at the most innocent remark

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

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 offenses Having a consistent place to live is one of the most critical factors in breaking this cycle, reducing repeat offenses, and improving public safety – not to mention saving our communities money. — Lake County News-Sun, Chicago Tribune, 22 Oct. 2026 What makes their offenses tick doesn’t always show up in the box score. — Peter Sblendorio, New York Daily News, 22 Oct. 2026 Next, New England travels to take on the Bears, who have one of the NFL's most exciting offenses under head coach Ben Johnson. — Matt Schooley, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026 Travelers are told to be aware that routine professional, academic and personal activities, which carry no risk in Western countries, could be treated as criminal offenses under China's broad security laws. — Kelly McGreal, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026 The offenses, said the Met Police, are alleged to have taken place between 2007 and 2016 and relate to five women. — Lily Ford, HollywoodReporter, 21 Oct. 2026 According to the charges, the offenses allegedly occurred between July and September 2025. — Kansas City Star, 20 Oct. 2026 Money generated through child exploitation offences can be criminal proceeds. — Katie McQue, NPR, 20 Oct. 2026 Sun is also required to give up any of the proceeds from the export offenses. — Amanda Gerut, Fortune, 15 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offenses
  1. crimes
  2. assaults
  3. insults
  4. frustrations
  5. violations
  6. attacks
  7. outrages
  8. resentments
Noun
  • Comparing the administration's fight to protect women and women's spaces from males to rape, is utterly disgusting and actually devalues those atrocities and crimes against actual women.
    — Jon Root OutKick, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • McKinney touts the city attorney’s prosecutor role as a means to stem quality-of-life crimes and curb homelessness.
    — Sonja Sharp, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of crimes
Noun
  • Assaults are up, almost 2,500 assaults this year alone on police officers, felony assaults, and public servants in New York City.
    — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026
  • Kansas City also ranked 176th in the assaults per capita metric, the fourth-lowest city in the metric.
    — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaults
Noun
  • In a round robin of insults, Proto blasted the incumbent Democratic senator who first won election in 2022.
    — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
  • But even with such attitudinal strides, Pew Research shows that people’s fears about AI’s societal impact are high, and digital choirs hurl insults at any project featuring the tech.
    — Corbin Bolies, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of insults
Noun
  • Even Luke Kuechly, who was honored at halftime for his recent induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame, couldn’t quell any frustrations.
    — Alex Zietlow, Charlotte Observer, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Clinton's lack of a majority and list of frustrations in his first term set the stage for a bruising first midterm election in 1994.
    — Ron Elving, NPR, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of frustrations
Noun
  • And unlike state authorities who can be sued for civil rights violations in state courts, federal law enforcement authorities are generally shielded from such lawsuits based on legal precedents.
    — Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Jackson was previously convicted of two counts of assault of a police officer and one count of carrying a pistol without a license and had three parole violations, the agency said.
    — Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of violations
Noun
  • On three separate occasions in the past week, Ukraine didn’t receive early warnings about missile attacks.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The wide availability of low-cost, powerful open models is one reason Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that open models in particular pose a risk of widespread and potentially devastating cyber attacks.
    — Emily Forlini, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • The liberal list of Republican offenses is long—so long, indeed, that the outrages blur.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Look, of the outrages, these are like the least among them, as far as being upset with the administration, with the president.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 14 June 2026
Definition of outrages
Noun
  • As two formidable women go head-to-head, their battle for the soul of Longview exposes the secrets, resentments, and desires lurking beneath its picture-perfect surface.
    — Matt Grobar, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2026
  • China and Russia each have to manage relationships with 14 neighbors, many of which are unfriendly or carry resentments from histories of conflict.
    — Robert B. Zoellick, Foreign Affairs, 9 Oct. 2026
Definition of resentments

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offense
offenses
offensive
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Cite this Entry

“Offenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offenses. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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