Offend Meaning
/əˈfɛnd/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
verbTo hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
verbTo feel or become offended; to take insult.
Sentence Examples
She didn't mean to offend anyone with her remark.
This letter contains sensitive information that may offend some people.
CEFR Practice Quiz
Rude comments about someone's appearance can ____ them deeply.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The comedian's joke managed to ____ several members of the audience who walked out in protest.
Word Origin & History
From Middle French offendre, from Latin offendō (“strike, blunder, commit an offense”), from ob- (“against”) + *fendō (“strike”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"‘ […] 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?’."
— 1963, Margery Allingham, chapter 6, in The China Governess: A Mystery, London: Chatto & Windus, →OCLC:
"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."
— 1995 September, “The Playboy Interview: Cindy Crawford”, in Playboy:
"Som fowles there be that have so perfaict ſight
Agayn the Sonne their Iyes for to defend
And ſom bicauſe the light doeth theim offend
Do never pere but in the darke or nyght"
— c. 1527–1542, Thomas Wyatt, “Som fowles there be that have so perfaict ſight”, in Egerton MS 2711, page 19v:
"I dailie and hourelie offend in thought, word, and deed, in a relapſe by mine owne weakneſſe and wilfulneſſe, my bonus Genius, my good protecting angel is gone, I am falne from that I was, or would bee, worſe and worſe, […]"
— 1638, Democritus Junior [pseudonym; Robert Burton], “Cure of Deſpaire by Phyſick, good counſell, comforts, &c.”, in The Anatomy of Melancholy. […], 5th edition, Oxford, Oxfordshire: […] [Robert Young, Miles Flesher, and Leonard Lichfield and William Turner] for Henry Cripps, →OCLC, partition 3, section 4, member 3, subsection 6, page 707:
"The plaintiff’s claim is replete with conclusions, expressions of opinion, and evidence. Therefore, the statement of claim offends the rules of pleading and ought to be struck out pursuant to Queen’s Bench Rule 25.11(b)."
— 2014 September 5, Justice James G. Edmond, “Rebillard v. Manitoba (A.G.) et al., 2014 MBQB 181”, in CanLII, retrieved 24 Nov 2025:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Rude comments about someone's appearance can ____ them deeply.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The comedian's joke managed to ____ several members of the audience who walked out in protest.