- 1[transitive, often passive, intransitive] offend (somebody) to make someone feel upset because of something you say or do that is rude or embarrassing They'll be offended if you don't go to their wedding. Neil did not mean to offend anyone with his joke. She managed to offend her boyfriend's parents as soon as she opened her mouth. A TV interviewer must be careful not to offend.
Want to learn more?
Find out which words work together and produce more natural sounding English with the Oxford Collocations Dictionary app.
- 2[transitive] offend somebody/something to seem unpleasant to someone The smell from the farm offended some people. an ugly building that offends the eye
- 3[intransitive] (formal) to commit a crime or crimes He started offending at the age of 16. What is the best way to stop someone who has offended from repeating the offense?
- 4[intransitive] offend (against somebody/something) (formal) to be against what people believe is morally right comments that offend against people's religious beliefs
verb jump to other results
NAmE//əˈfɛnd//
Verb Forms present simple I / you / we / they offend he / she / it offends
past simple offended
-ing form offending
adjective Alice looked kind of offended.See offend in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary
Check pronunciation: offend