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Offender vs Accused - What's the difference?

offender | accused |

As nouns the difference between offender and accused

is that offender is one who gives or causes offense while accused is the person charged with an offense; the defendant in a criminal case.

As a verb accused is

past tense of accuse.

As an adjective accused is

having been accused; being the target of accusations.

offender

English

Alternative forms

* offendor (obsolete) * offendour (obsolete)

Noun

(en noun)
  • One who gives or causes offense.
  • A person who commits an offense against the law, a lawbreaker.

    • Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * juvenile offender * repeat offender

    Anagrams

    * *

    accused

    English

    Verb

    (head)
  • (accuse)

    • Noun

    (accused)
  • (legal) The person charged with an offense; the defendant in a criminal case.

    • Usage notes

    * (noun) Preceded by the word the .

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having been accused; being the target of accusations.
  • * 1883 , Charlotte Mary Yonge, Landmarks of Recent History, 1770-1883 , Walter Smith (publisher), pages 11–12:
    • This power chiefly fell to the queen, and she was more accused than ever of too much leaning towards her own country;
  • * 1891 , Charles Grant Robertson, Caesar Borgia: The Stanhope Essay for 1891 , B.H. Blackwell, pages 8–9:
    • Naples had an almost stronger preference for the interposition of Spain, while the great republic of Venice in the eyes of Italy stood accused of aspiring to bring the whole peninsula under its sway,
  • * 2007 , Patricia Love and Steven Stosny, How to Improve Your Marriage Without Talking about It: Finding Love Beyond Words , Random House, ISBN 9780767923170, page 188:
    • If she felt unimportant, you showed her that she was important to you. If she felt accused , you reassured her. If she felt guilty, you helped her feel better.

    Anagrams

    *