offend

offend — verb

1. to upset, annoy, or insult a person by saying or doing something they find rude,

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to upset, annoy, or insult a person by saying or doing something they find rude, embarrassing, or disrespectful — for example, telling a joke about someone's religion in front of them.

Example

Marcus did not mean to offend Aunt Lin when he asked about her age.

offend + person object

Many viewers were offended by the comedian's joke about the earthquake victims.

passive: be offended by + noun

Common collocations
  • deeply offend
  • easily offended
  • offend somebody's feelings
  • offend public taste
  • no offence intended
Synonyms
  • insult

    stronger and more direct — usually deliberate, while 'offend' may be unintentional

  • upset

    broader — covers any cause of distress, not only rudeness or disrespect

  • hurt

    focuses on emotional pain; 'offend' adds a sense of disrespect or impropriety

  • affront

    formal; emphasises a public insult to dignity or pride

Antonyms
  • please

    to give pleasure rather than hurt

  • flatter

    to make someone feel valued or admired

Grammar Patterns

offend + somebody

be offended by + noun

be offended that + clause

Usage Note

Frequently passive in the form 'be offended by/that'. Subject is typically a remark, joke, gesture, or behaviour rather than a person, while the object is the person whose feelings are hurt. Distinguish from sense 2 — this sense never refers to breaking laws.

Common Mistakes

I am offending by his words.
I am offended by his words.
for the receiver of the insult, use the passive 'be offended', not the active '-ing' form.
She offended to me yesterday.
She offended me yesterday.
this sense is transitive and takes a direct object with no preposition.

2. to break the law by carrying out a criminal act, used especially in legal or off

2.verbintransitiveC1
Definition

to break the law by carrying out a criminal act, used especially in legal or official writing about people who have already been convicted before.

Example

Most young people who offend once do not return to crime as adults.

intransitive: offend with no object

The judge warned Daniel that if he offended again, he would face prison.

offend again (re-offending pattern)

Common collocations
  • offend again
  • first-time offending
  • young people who offend
  • offend within [time period]
Synonyms
  • transgress

    formal and often moral or religious, not only legal

  • re-offend

    narrower — specifically about offending a second or further time

  • break the law

    everyday wording with the same meaning; 'offend' is the official register

Antonyms
  • obey

    to follow the law rather than break it

  • comply

    formal — to act in line with rules or court orders

Grammar Patterns

offend (no object)

offend again / re-offend

Usage Note

Used mostly in legal, social-work, and policy writing — rarely in everyday speech, where 'commit a crime' or 'break the law' is normal. Subject is always the person doing the wrong, never the act. Distinguish from sense 1 — this sense takes no object and never describes hurting feelings.

Common Mistakes

He offended a robbery last night.
He committed a robbery last night.
sense 2 is intransitive, so you cannot place a crime as its direct object.
She offended me by stealing my bike.' (meaning she committed a crime against me)
She committed a crime against me by stealing my bike.
when a victim is named, switch to 'commit a crime'.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All five describe causing someone emotional pain, but they differ in cause, intent, and register. 'Upset' is the broadest and most neutral — anything from bad news to a cancelled trip can upset somebody, with no idea of disrespect. 'Hurt' focuses on the inner wound, especially when the speaker was close to the listener: 'You really hurt me when you forgot my birthday.' 'Offend' adds the flavour of crossing a social or moral line — a rude joke, an awkward question, an insensitive comment — and is often unintentional. 'Insult' is sharper and almost always deliberate, naming the person directly or attacking their group. 'Affront' is formal and bookish, used when public dignity is wounded: 'The minister's remarks affronted the entire community.'

offend ↗insult ↗upset ↗hurt ↗affront

Common collocations

Nouns

  • feelings
  • sensibilities
  • public taste
  • the law

Adverbs

Phrases

  • no offence intended
  • easily offended
  • without meaning to offend

Prepositions

  • offended by
  • offended at
  • offence against

Etymology

LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishModern English

The verb came into English in the late 1300s from Old French 'offendre', borrowed from Latin 'offendere', literally 'to strike against'. The Latin verb is built from 'ob-' (against) and a root meaning 'to hit' or 'to dash'. The image of bumping into something carried over: first into the legal idea of 'striking against' a law, and then into the social idea of 'striking against' another person's feelings. Both senses still live in modern English today.