English Explanatory Dictionary

offend

English dictionary entry

Meanings

verb

To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
To feel or become offended; to take insult.
To physically harm, pain.
To annoy, cause discomfort or resent.
To sin, transgress divine law or moral rules.
To transgress or violate a law or moral requirement.
To cause to stumble; to cause to sin or to fall.

Pronunciation

/əˈfɛnd/ LL-Q1860 (eng)-Vealhurl-offend.wav

Word forms

offend offends offending offended

Etymology

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

Synonyms

abuse affront burn carry cut down disrespect dis diss give stick heckle hurt someone's feelings insult lapidate qualifier misbid misrespect misuse offend send scandal scandalize slag slag off sledge slight slur sneap spite wound

Antonyms

commend compliment flatter laud praise revere talk up

Related words

defend fend offense offensive defame enrage despise

Derived words

offendable offendedly offendedness offendee offender offendor offendotron reoffend repeat offend

This entry uses open data from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA/GFDL). Word forms are used for search and are not indexed as separate pages.

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