offensive 1 of 2

adjective

ə-ˈfen(t)-siv How to pronounce offensive (audio)
Definition of offensivenext
1
as in disgusting
causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment I find your disrespectful attitude toward religion very offensive the smell of rotting food is quite offensive

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in obnoxious
provoking or likely to provoke protest insensitive, offensive remarks about the plight of the homeless

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

offensive

2 of 2

noun

as in attack
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence the primary offensive by the ground forces will commence at dawn tomorrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 offensive
Adjective
OpenAI also developed a new evaluation for offensive web penetration testing, in which models probe web applications without access to their source code. — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 5 Nov. 2026 The Wolverines regained the lead early in the second, as UConn struggled to get good looks, committing multiple shot-clock violations and offensive fouls in the quarter. — Dom Amore, Hartford Courant, 5 Nov. 2026
Noun
Countries in the Middle East are concerned that a fresh US offensive against Iran would invite further Iranian retaliation after eight months of instability in the Middle East. — Mostafa Salem, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026 Its defense has been excellent, while its new quarterback-offensive coordinator combo has not. — Jim Barnes, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 25 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for offensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensive
  1. disgusting
  2. obnoxious
  3. attack
  4. ugly
  5. unacceptable
  6. offense
  7. awful
  8. objectionable
Adjective
  • Everyone starts tasting the varied, apparently disgusting, bottles.
    — Alice Burton, Vulture, 6 Nov. 2026
  • The third branch of government did its job, and that should be a welcome sight for all Americans given the disgusting and dangerous attacks on our democracy by the federal government.
    — Dominic Patten, Deadline, 2 Nov. 2026
Definition of disgusting
Adjective
  • Dashcam followed in 2021, about an obnoxious content creator on a fateful and terrifying drive, as well as 2023 Stephen King adaptation The Boogeyman.
    — Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 28 Oct. 2026
  • As Claudia, Curtis is perfectly biting and obnoxious, willing to insert herself into her ex-husband’s life for sport, stomping on his feeble boundaries.
    — Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of obnoxious
Noun
  • The Hope spent much of its time ferrying sailors and the wounded from other ships or ports to military hospitals, and like the Comfort, it too was attacked multiple times, though each attack failed, usually just missing the ship.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 11 Nov. 2026
  • Following the Halle synagogue attack, Germany provided 22 million euros in special federal funding for physical and technical security at Jewish sites.
    — Marc Schneier, New York Daily News, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of attack
Adjective
  • The warehouse retailer stock was one of just three Club names in the green in Thursday's ugly market.
    — Natasha Abellard, CNBC, 5 Nov. 2026
  • And not least because no amount of overuse can obscure the ugly origin of 2026’s favorite syntaxx.
    — Hillary Busis, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of ugly
Adjective
  • But singling out businesses because their owners are Jewish is unacceptable and has no place in our city.
    — Eva Andersen, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • William James Middle received its fifth unacceptable rating in a row in the 2025-26 school year.
    — Lina Ruiz, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of unacceptable
Noun
  • But this has been a season when Lakers coach JJ Redick said Doncic has provided the team more than just offense.
    — Broderick Turner, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2026
  • The teen also faces an allegation of having a prior conviction for a violent offense, which qualifies as a strike under California law.
    — Richard Ramos, CBS News, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of offense
Adjective
  • Losing to the Tampa Bay Bucs starting an undrafted rookie quarterback was awful, and gagging the home game in overtime to the Awful Arizona Cardinals was worse; coming back in the fourth quarter to beat the Colts is almost just as bad.
    — Fort Worth Star-Telegram, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 8 Nov. 2026
  • The only sign his group was listening to the awful things their friend/boss/son was being accused of was the very active facial expressions of Brand’s wife, Laura.
    — Luke Jones, Vanity Fair, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of awful
Adjective
  • Kermode says that for a long time, Warner showed little interest in doing a proper restoration, as the material was still considered highly objectionable.
    — Bilge Ebiri, Vulture, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The judge also has noted that some of the objectionable stories cited by the DOJ do not have to do with national security.
    — Ted Johnson, Deadline, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of objectionable

Browse Nearby Words

offenses
offensive
offensiveness
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Offensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensive. Accessed 11 Nov. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of valorous

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

31 Useful Rhetorical Devices

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Longest Long Words List

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All