offend
English
Etymology
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(deprecated template usage) From (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Middle French offendre, from (deprecated template usage) [etyl] Latin offendō (“strike, blunder, commit an offense”), from ob- (“against”) + *fendō (“strike”).
Pronunciation
Verb
offend (third-person singular simple present offends, present participle offending, simple past and past participle offended)
- (transitive) To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
- 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess[1]:
- ‘ […] 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.
- (intransitive) To feel or become offended; to take insult.
- Don't worry. I don't offend easily.
- (transitive) To physically harm, pain.
- Strong light offends the eye.
- (transitive) To annoy, cause discomfort or resent.
- Physically enjoyable frivolity can still offend the conscience
- (intransitive) To sin, transgress divine law or moral rules.
- (transitive) To transgress or violate a law or moral requirement.
- (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."
- 1896, Adolphus Frederick Schauffler, Select Notes on the International Sunday School Lessons, W. A. Wilde company, Page 161,
Quotations
- For quotations using this term, see Citations:offend.
Synonyms
- See also Thesaurus:offend
Derived terms
Related terms
Translations
to hurt the feelings
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to physically harm, pain
to transgress or violate a law or moral requirement
sin — see sin
to cause to sin or fall
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to annoy, cause discomfort or resent
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to feel or become offended
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- The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.
Translations to be checked
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Further reading
- “offend”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
- “offend”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.
Anagrams
Categories:
- English terms derived from Middle French
- English terms derived from Latin
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- Rhymes:English/ɛnd
- English lemmas
- English verbs
- English transitive verbs
- English terms with quotations
- English terms with usage examples
- English intransitive verbs
- English terms with obsolete senses
- English terms with archaic senses
- en:Bible
- en:Emotions