Noun

(en noun) (US)

The act of offending:

# a crime or sin

#* {{quote-book, year=2006, author=

, title=Internal Combustion , chapter=2 citation , passage=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.}}

# an affront, insult or injury.

#* Dryden

I have given my opinion against the authority of two great men, but I hope without offence to their memories.

The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.

) A strategy and tactics employed when in position to score; ''contrasted with defense.

) The portion of a team dedicated to scoring when in position to do so; ''contrasted with defense.

Noun

(en noun)

The act of irritating, or exciting, or the state of being irritated; excitement; stimulation, usually of an undue and uncomfortable kind; especially, excitement of anger or passion; provocation; annoyance; anger.

* {{quote-magazine, year=2012, month=March-April

, author=Anna Lena Phillips , title=Sneaky Silk Moths , volume=100, issue=2, page=172 , magazine=(American Scientist) citation , passage=Last spring, the periodical cicadas emerged across eastern North America. Their vast numbers and short above-ground life spans inspired awe and irritation in humans—and made for good meals for birds and small mammals.}}

The act of exciting, or the condition of being excited to action, by stimulation; -- as, the condition of an organ of sense, when its nerve is affected by some external body; especially, the act of exciting muscle fibers to contraction, by artificial stimulation; as, the irritation of a motor nerve by electricity; also, the condition of a muscle and nerve, under such stimulation.

A condition of morbid excitability or oversensitiveness of an organ or part of the body; a state in which the application of ordinary stimuli produces pain or excessive or vitiated action.