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v. of·fend·ed, of·fend·ing, of·fends v.tr. 1. To cause displeasure, anger, resentment, or wounded feelings in: We were offended by his tasteless jokes. 2. To be displeasing or disagreeable to: Onions offend my sense of smell. v.intr. 1. To result in displeasure: Bad manners may offend. 2. a. To violate a moral or divine law; sin. b. To violate a rule or law: offended against the curfew. [Middle English offenden, from Old French offendre, from Latin offendere; see gwhen- in the Appendix of Indo-European roots.] of·fender n. Synonyms: offend, insult, affront, outrage These verbs mean to cause resentment, humiliation, or hurt. To offend is to cause displeasure, wounded feelings, or repugnance in another: "He often offended men who might have been useful friends" (John Lothrop Motley). Insult implies gross insensitivity, insolence, or contemptuous rudeness: "My father had insulted her by refusing to come to our wedding" (James Carroll). To affront is to insult openly, usually intentionally: "He continued to belabor the poor woman in a studied effort to affront his hated chieftain" (Edgar Rice Burroughs). Outrage implies the flagrant violation of a person's integrity, pride, or sense of right and decency: "He revered the men and women who transformed this piece of grassland into a great city, and he was outraged by the attacks on their reputation" (James S. Hirsch). |
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