offend

verb

of·​fend ə-ˈfend 

offended; offending; offends

intransitive verb

1

a

: to transgress (see transgress sense transitive 1) the moral or divine law : sin

… if it be a sin to covet honor, I am the most offending soul alive.

—William Shakespeare

b

: to violate a law or rule : do wrong

determining whether a released prisoner is likely to offend again

2

a

: to cause difficulty, discomfort, or injury

took off his shoe and removed the offending pebble

b

: to cause dislike, anger, or vexation

thoughtless words that offend needlessly

transitive verb

1

a

: violate, transgress

… a contract not offending a statute … might still be in restraint of trade.

—C. A. Cooke

b

: to cause pain to : hurt

tasteless billboards that offend the eye

2

obsolete : to cause to sin or fall

3

: to cause (a person or group) to feel hurt, angry, or upset by something said or done

was offended by their language

I'm a little offended by your sarcastic tone.

She carefully worded her comments so as not to offend anyone.

offender noun

Synonyms of offend

• trespass
• fall
• wander

Choose the Right Synonym for offend

offend, outrage, affront, insult mean to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment.

offend need not imply an intentional hurting but it may indicate merely a violation of the victim's sense of what is proper or fitting.

hoped that my remarks had not offended her

outrage implies offending beyond endurance and calling forth extreme feelings.

outraged by their accusations

affront implies treating with deliberate rudeness or contemptuous indifference to courtesy.

deeply affronted by his callousness

insult suggests deliberately causing humiliation, hurt pride, or shame.

insulted every guest at the party

Examples of offend in a Sentence

His comments about minority groups offended many of us.

She had carefully worded her comments so as not to offend anyone.

It offends me that you would make such a remark.

Don't worry. I wasn't offended.

I felt a little offended by their lack of respect.

Some people are offended by the song's lyrics.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend.

Recent Examples on the Web

No, absolutely not, what does offend me, though, is having the poppy try be forced upon me. —Eduardo Tansley, New York Times, 8 Nov. 2025

When no one in the Fortune 500 wants to risk offending Trump, leave it to Spike the Fine Motor Hedgehog to take care of business. —Newsweek Staff, MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025

Whoever is 77th will be sure to be offended. —Dana O’Neil, CNN Money, 5 Nov. 2025

No one around the table can be offended or object to the joke. —Big Think, 5 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English offenden "to assail, violate, displease, hurt the feelings of," borrowed from Anglo-French & Latin; Anglo-French offendre, borrowed from Latin offendere "to strike against, stumble (upon), trouble, break a rule, displease, annoy," from of-, assimilated variant of ob- ob- + -fendere presumably, "to strike, hit" (unattested without prefixes) — more at defend

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined at intransitive sense 1a

Phrases Containing offend

• offend the eye

Rhymes for offend

• amend
• append
• ascend
• attend
• backend
• befriend
• boyfriend
• commend
• compend
• contend
• defend
• depend

Kids Definition

offend

verb

of·​fend ə-ˈfend 

1

: to do wrong : sin

2

: to cause to be angry or annoyed : displease

that language offends me

offender noun

Legal Definition

offend

intransitive verb

of·​fend ə-ˈfend 

: to commit an offense

offender noun