Offense Meaning
/əˈfɛns/Definition, CEFR level B1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounThe act of offending.
nounThe act of offending., A crime or sin.
Sentence Examples
No offense was meant.
That is a criminal offense, and you will surely be punished!
CEFR Practice Quiz
Speeding on the highway is a serious ____ that can lead to a fine.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team's ____ scored three goals in the second half to secure a dramatic victory.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English offence, from Old French offense, from Latin offensa (“a striking against; displeasure; injury”).
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The slave fully appreciates the saying, "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise." When old master's gestures were violent, ending with a threatening shake of the head, and a sharp snap of his middle finger and thumb, I deemed it wise to keep at a respectable distance from him; for, at such times, trifling faults stood, in his eyes, as momentous offenses; and, having both the power and the disposition, the victim had only to be near him to catch the punishment, deserved or undeserved."
— 1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 3, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC:
"The popular late Middle Ages fictional character Robin Hood, dressed in green to symbolize the forest, dodged fines for forest offenses and stole from the rich to give to the poor. But his appeal was painfully real and embodied the struggle over wood."
— 2006, Edwin Black, chapter 2, in Internal Combustion:
"Thus I have ventur'd to give my Opinion on this Subject againſt the Authority of tvvo great men, but I hope vvithout offence to either of their Memories, for I both lov'd them living, and reverence them now they are dead."
— 1680, John Dryden, “The Preface to Ovid’s Epistles”, in Ovid, Ovid’s Epistles, […], London: […] Jacob Tonson […], →OCLC:
Explore More B1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
Speeding on the highway is a serious ____ that can lead to a fine.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The team's ____ scored three goals in the second half to secure a dramatic victory.