offend

[of·fend]

If you hurt someone's feelings, you offend that person. You might accidentally offend your friend when you joke about the worst restaurant in town, not realizing it's her favorite place to eat.

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To strike against; to attack; to assail.

Verb
cause to feel resentment or indignation; "Her tactless remark offended me"

Verb
hurt the feelings of; "She hurt me when she did not include me among her guests"; "This remark really bruised me ego"

Verb
strike with disgust or revulsion; "The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends"

Verb
act in disregard of laws and rules; "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"


v. t.
To strike against; to attack; to assail.

v. t.
To displease; to make angry; to affront.

v. t.
To be offensive to; to harm; to pain; to annoy; as, strong light offends the eye; to offend the conscience.

v. t.
To transgress; to violate; to sin against.

v. t.
To oppose or obstruct in duty; to cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall.


Offend

Of*fend , v. t. [imp. & p. p. Offended; p. pr. & vb. n. Offending.] [OF. offendre, L. offendere, offensum; ob (see Ob-) + fendere (in comp.) to thrust, dash. See Defend.] 1. To strike against; to attack; to assail. [Obs.] Sir P. Sidney. 2. To displease; to make angry; to affront.
A brother offended is harder to be won than a strong city.
3. To be offensive to; to harm; to pain; to annoy; as, strong light offends the eye; to offend the conscience. 4. To transgress; to violate; to sin against. [Obs.]
Marry, sir, he hath offended the law.
5. (Script.) To oppose or obstruct in duty; to cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall. [Obs.]
Who hath you misboden or offended.
If thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out... And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off.
Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them.

To strike against; to attack; to assail.

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Usage Examples

We cannot know the whole truth, which belongs to God alone, but our task nevertheless is to seek to know what is true. And if we offend gravely enough against what we know to be true, as by failing badly enough to deal affectionately and responsibly with our land and our neighbors, truth will retaliate with ugliness, poverty, and disease.

Every man should follow the bent of his nature in art and letters, always provided that he does not offend against the rules of morality and good taste.

We all like to forgive, and love best not those who offend us least, nor who have done most for us, but those who make it most easy for us to forgive them.

My family was all born in Sicily and I'm Italian-American. They're the real thing. They're authentic Italians, and honestly they're the most open-minded, nicest people in the world and nothing can really offend them. That's the way I think true Sicilians are.

Freedom of speech includes the freedom to offend people.

I live in America. I have the right to write whatever I want. And it's equaled by another right just as powerful: the right not to read it. Freedom of speech includes the freedom to offend people.

Misspelled Form

offend, ioffend, 9offend, 0offend, poffend, loffend, iffend, 9ffend, 0ffend, pffend, lffend, oiffend, o9ffend, o0ffend, opffend, olffend, odffend, orffend, otffend, ogffend, ovffend, ocffend, odfend, orfend, otfend, ogfend, ovfend, ocfend, ofdfend, ofrfend, oftfend, ofgfend, ofvfend, ofcfend, ofdfend, ofrfend, oftfend, ofgfend, ofvfend, ofcfend, ofdend, ofrend, oftend, ofgend, ofvend, ofcend, offdend, offrend, offtend, offgend, offvend, offcend, offwend, off3end, off4end, offrend, offsend, offdend, offwnd, off3nd, off4nd, offrnd, offsnd, offdnd, offewnd, offe3nd, offe4nd, offernd, offesnd, offednd, offebnd, offehnd, offejnd, offemnd, offe nd, offebd, offehd, offejd, offemd, offe d, offenbd, offenhd, offenjd, offenmd, offen d, offensd, offened, offenfd, offenxd, offencd, offens, offene, offenf, offenx, offenc, offends, offende, offendf, offendx, offendc.

Other Usage Examples

Do you want me to apologize after every joke? If it doesn't offend somebody it's probably not a joke. It's probably an observation that's not funny. It's gotta offend somebody somewhere.

Child abuse and neglect offend the basic values of our state. We have a responsibility to provide safe settings for at-risk children and facilitate permanent placement for children who cannot return home.

I don't know of many evangelicals who want to deny gay couples their legal rights. However, most of us don't want to call it marriage, because we think that word has religious connotations, and we're not ready to see it used in ways that offend us.

Men ought either to be indulged or utterly destroyed, for if you merely offend them they take vengeance, but if you injure them greatly they are unable to retaliate, so that the injury done to a man ought to be such that vengeance cannot be feared.

The secret to success is to offend the greatest number of people.

I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and to commit my cause to God, not fearing to offend men, who take offence at the simplicity of truth, is the only way to remain unmoved at the sentiments of others.

This is a work of fiction. All the characters in it, human and otherwise, are imaginary, excepting only certain of the fairy folk, whom it might be unwise to offend by casting doubts on their existence. Or lack thereof.

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