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Offensive vs Offend - What's the difference?

offensive | offend | Related terms |

Offend is a related term of offensive.



As an adjective offensive

is causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, or hatred.

As a noun offensive

is an attack.

As a verb offend is

  To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.

offensive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, or hatred.
  • Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
  • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • Having to do with play directed at scoring.
  • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "offensive" is often applied: content, material, language, word, comment, remark, statement, speech, joke, humor, image, picture, art, behavior, conduct, act, action. * When the second syllable is emphasized, "offensive" is defined as "insulting". When the first syllable is emphasized, it refers to the attacker of a conflict or the team in a sport who possesses the ball.

    Synonyms

    * aggressive * invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

    Antonyms

    * inoffensive (not causing offense or disgust ) * defensive (relating or causing defence )

    Derived terms

    * offensiveness

    Noun

  • (countable, military) An attack.
  • The Marines today launched a major offensive .
  • (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.
  • He took the offensive in the press, accusing his opponent of corruption.

    offend

    English

    Verb

    (en verb)
  • (transitive)  To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
  • *{{quote-book, year=1963, author=(Margery Allingham), title=(The China Governess)
  • , chapter=6 citation , passage=‘[…] 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?’.}}
  • (intransitive)  To feel or become offended, take insult.
  • (transitive)  To physically harm, pain.
  • (transitive)  To annoy, cause discomfort or resent.
  • (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."

    Synonyms

    * See also

    Derived terms

    * offendedly * offendedness * offender * reoffend