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
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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
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
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Recent Examples of offensive
Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
The latest deal pushed by the Trump administration would freeze battle lines, see all remaining hostages released, destroy Hamas’ offensive weaponry, and offer limited amnesties for the group’s fighters.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Like the three Dolphins opponents before them, the Jets pummeled Miami on the ground, putting New York’s offensive in favorable down-and-distance situations.
—Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for offensive
Adjective
Two thousand titles deemed offensive to the Nazi regime were removed from its libraries: histories; biographies; classics like All Quiet on the Western Front; works by the Communist poet Louis Aragon; and by Jews, including Albert Einstein, Sigmund Freud, and Thomas Mann.
—Christopher C. Gorham
september 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
The latest deal pushed by the Trump administration would freeze battle lines, see all remaining hostages released, destroy Hamas’ offensive weaponry, and offer limited amnesties for the group’s fighters.
—Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 29 Sep. 2025
Noun
Israel’s offensive in response has killed more than 66,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, which says women and children make up about half the deaths.
—Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Oct. 2025
Like the three Dolphins opponents before them, the Jets pummeled Miami on the ground, putting New York’s offensive in favorable down-and-distance situations.
—Miami Herald, 30 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for offensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensive
Adjective
-
Evshine Memory Foam Slippers Listen, airplane floors are disgusting.—
Carin Ryan,
Travel + Leisure,
4 Oct. 2025
-
Some of the abuse that came later, though, was disgusting.—
Kevin Coulson,
New York Times,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Powell might have been appealing enough to make this goofy premise work if Russ and his alter ego weren’t two of the most obnoxious TV characters in recent memory—and if the show didn’t seem cobbled together from older, better sports comedies.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Apple's obnoxious $100-or-$200-per-tier upgrade pricing for storage and RAM is usually the worst part about any of its products, so any upgrade that eliminates that upcharge for anyone is worth calling out.—
ArsTechnica,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Advertisement An investigation led by the Guardian found in September that out of the 6,000 Palestinians from Gaza held by Israel since the Hamas terror attack two years ago, only one quarter were held on suspicion of militant links.—
Callum Sutherland,
Time,
9 Oct. 2025
-
This was the worst one-day attack on Israel since the country's founding in 1948.—
Greg Myre,
NPR,
9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Lindell handles very ugly, difficult matchups and usually comes out on top, regardless of who he’s partnered with.—
Harman Dayal,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
-
If the scoreline made for ugly reading, the performance wasn’t much better.—
Ben Church,
CNN Money,
6 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Violence anywhere, especially in a place of worship, is unacceptable.—
James Bickerton,
MSNBC Newsweek,
3 Oct. 2025
-
Other Republicans — especially in the House — see it as an unacceptable expansion of President Barack Obama’s signature health care law, which Republicans have tried to eliminate or cut back since it was enacted 15 years ago.—
Preston Fore,
Fortune,
2 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Yet there has been an asymmetry between the Sturm und Drang of that operation—a midnight raid featured agents rappelling from helicopters onto a South Side apartment building—and its effect.—
Benjamin Wallace-Wells,
New Yorker,
5 Oct. 2025
-
Adults and children alike were pulled from their apartments, crying and screaming during the raid, which led to the arrests of 37 undocumented immigrants.—
Whitney Wild,
CNN Money,
4 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
Apparently, Canadians are very pissed off at us and don't feel like visiting and spending their money here, which is awful because there are so many businesses that rely upon Canadians and tourists from other countries.—
Hugh Cameron,
MSNBC Newsweek,
7 Oct. 2025
-
The cold was awful, but the rain that was predicted never came.—
Mariana Enriquez
October 2,
Literary Hub,
2 Oct. 2025
Adjective
-
The company also indicated the app lacked robust content moderation to block objectionable user-generation content.—
Senior Reporter,
PC Magazine,
3 Oct. 2025
-
The best movies extract emotions from us, and watching the most objectionable material in Waters’ masterpiece from 1972 can feel like trying to hold puke back behind your eyeballs.—
Alison Foreman,
IndieWire,
3 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensive. Accessed 10 Oct. 2025.
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