offend

English

Etymology

From Middle French offendre, from Latin offendō (“strike, blunder, commit an offense”), from ob- (“against”) + *fendō (“strike”).

Pronunciation
  • IPA(key): /əˈfɛnd/
  • Hyphenation: of‧fend
  • Rhymes: -ɛnd

Verb

offend (third-person singular simple present offends, present participle offending, simple past and past participle offended)

  1. (transitive) To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
    • 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess‎:
      ‘ […] I remember a lady coming to inspect St. Mary's Home where I was brought up and seeing us all in our lovely Elizabethan uniforms we were so proud of, and bursting into tears all over us because “it was wicked to dress us like charity children”. We nearly crowned her we were so offended. She saw us but she didn't know us, did she?’.
    Your accusations offend me deeply.
    • 1995 September, The Playboy Interview: Cindy Crawford, Playboy
      One day my girlfriend, her boyfriend and I were sunbathing topless because that's Barbados - you can wear nothing if you want. And the Pepsi guy walks up and with my agent to meet us for lunch. I wondered if I should put on my top because I have a business relationship with him. I didn't want him to get offended because the rest of the beach had seen me with my top off.
  2. (intransitive) To feel or become offended; to take insult.
    Don't worry. I don't offend easily.
  3. (transitive) To physically harm, pain.
    Strong light offends the eye.
  4. (transitive) To annoy, cause discomfort or resent.
    Physically enjoyable frivolity can still offend the conscience
  5. (intransitive) To sin, transgress divine law or moral rules.
  6. (transitive) To transgress or violate a law or moral requirement.
  7. (obsolete, transitive, archaic, biblical) To cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall.
    • 1896, Adolphus Frederick Schauffler, Select Notes on the International Sunday School Lessons, W. A. Wilde company, Page 161,
      "If any man offend not (stumbles not, is not tripped up) in word, the same is a perfect man."
    • New Testament, Matthew 5:29 (Sermon on the Mount),
      "If thine eye offend thee, pluck it out."

Quotations
  • For quotations of use of this term, see Citations:offend.

Synonyms

Derived terms

Translations
sin — see sin
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout#Translations.
Translations to be checked

Further reading
  • offend in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
  • offend in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.
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