verb
- Cause to feel resentment or indignation.
- usage: "Her tactless remark offended me"
- Act in disregard of laws, rules, contracts, or promises.
- usage: "offend all laws of humanity"; "violate the basic laws or human civilization"; "break a law"; "break a promise"
- synonyms: transgress, offend, infract, violate, go against, breach, break
- Strike with disgust or revulsion.
- usage: "The scandalous behavior of this married woman shocked her friends"
- synonyms: shock, offend, scandalize, scandalise, appal, appall, outrage
- Hurt the feelings of.
- usage: "She hurt me when she did not include me among her guests"; "This remark really bruised my ego"
adjective
- Offending against or breaking a law or rule.
- usage: "contracts offending against the statute were canceled"
WordNet 3.0 © 2006 by Princeton University
| APA | WordNet. (2010). offending. Retrieved September 20, 2026, from http://smartdefine.org/offending/definitions/1179721 |
| Chicago | WordNet. 2010. "offending" http://smartdefine.org/offending/definitions/1179721 (accessed September 20, 2026). |
| Harvard | WordNet 2010, offending, Smart Define, viewed 20 September, 2026, <http://smartdefine.org/offending/definitions/1179721>. |
| MLA | WordNet. "offending" 23 October 2010. Web. 20 September 2026. <http://smartdefine.org/offending/definitions/1179721> |