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
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
Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
For the second consecutive game, UCLA forced its opponent’s top scorer into a dreadful offensive performance.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Apr. 2026
Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
More than 600,000 people will be barred from returning to their homes in the area north of Israel, the defense minister said, part of a broader Israeli offensive into the country that critics have characterized as an invasion.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for offensive
Adjective
And yet there soared Demary, all 6-foot-4 of him, skying to snag an offensive rebound off an Alex Karaban missed three.
—Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Apr. 2026
For the second consecutive game, UCLA forced its opponent’s top scorer into a dreadful offensive performance.
—Andrew Greif, NBC news, 5 Apr. 2026
Noun
As Israel ramps up its offensive against Hezbollah, migrant workers in Lebanon are being displaced for a second time — and resources are running thin, the International Organization for Migration warns.
—Gonzalo Zegarra, CNN Money, 2 Apr. 2026
More than 600,000 people will be barred from returning to their homes in the area north of Israel, the defense minister said, part of a broader Israeli offensive into the country that critics have characterized as an invasion.
—Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson, semafor.com, 2 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for offensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensive
Adjective
-
Living under an openly misogynistic president may have felt freakish in 2017, but by his second term, bigotry became yet another disgusting norm.—
Ben Travers,
IndieWire,
2 Apr. 2026
-
The amount of disrespect shown the Broncos is disgusting.—
Troy Renck,
Denver Post,
27 Mar. 2026
Adjective
-
Only Nicky and Morgan really appreciate how strange Linda is or how obnoxious their sister Natalie has become.—
Kathryn VanArendonk,
Vulture,
10 Apr. 2026
-
Mostly, Julian and Lori take turns thwarting his obnoxious kids and threatening to quit.—
Amy Nicholson,
Los Angeles Times,
9 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
What investigators uncovered was a complex attack involving blockchain infrastructure, malware that functions across various platforms, and thousands of software developers and the companies that hire them.—
Jessica Klein,
PC Magazine,
11 Apr. 2026
-
Iran's paramilitary Revolutionary Guard denied launching attacks on Persian Gulf states after Kuwait's announcement.—
Brian Dakss,
CBS News,
11 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
While not the pastor of the United States, Trump surely represents the face of the United States on a daily basis, and that face is an ugly one.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
9 Apr. 2026
-
Featuring the good, the bad and the ugly, ‘Look of the Week’ is a regular series dedicated to unpacking the most talked about outfit of the last seven days.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
9 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
Killing dogs in the street became increasingly unacceptable, and rabies vaccines became available.—
Rachel Sugar,
Curbed,
8 Apr. 2026
-
To Hafley, that’s unacceptable.—
Miami Herald,
Miami Herald,
8 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
The Mets’ offense seems to be boom-or-bust without a lot of in-between, and the defense is still making adjustments with so many players playing out of position.—
Abbey Mastracco,
New York Daily News,
10 Apr. 2026
-
The report states authorities were initially called because a male was seen vaping on the plane, which is a federal offense.—
Colson Thayer,
PEOPLE,
10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
The only way to pull out of an awful season-opening stretch is one at-bat, one pitch, one win at a time.—
Jen McCaffrey,
New York Times,
8 Apr. 2026
-
Still, outside of two games, the offense has been awful.—
Patrick Saunders,
Denver Post,
8 Apr. 2026
Adjective
-
In a letter obtained by CNBC, the league outlines examples of event contracts that could be easily manipulable by a single person, inherently objectionable, related to officiating and knowable in advance — and asks that operators refrain from offering such trades.—
Jessica Golden,
CNBC,
30 Mar. 2026
-
The Constitution protects a broad swath of speech, including much that the public finds objectionable.—
Cate Charron,
IndyStar,
13 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensive. Accessed 12 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
