How to Use take offense in a Sentence

take offense

phrase
  • Be aware that people are quick to take offense or feel threatened.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 11 May 2025
  • Klara does not take offense, but readers feel the question’s sting.
    — Heller McAlpin, The Christian Science Monitor, 1 Mar. 2021
  • And that target can either shrug, laugh along, or take offense.
    — Big Think, 5 Nov. 2025
  • Others take offense at your opinions or tone as the moon and Mars clash!
    — USA TODAY, 12 Apr. 2023
  • Your friends might take offense at this as the moon travels through Aquarius.
    — USA TODAY, 7 Nov. 2024
  • The actress said many background actors seemed to take offense with the scene and left the set.
    — Rosy Cordero, EW.com, 21 June 2020
  • The people calling it spa water shouldn’t take offense if they’re getting called out.
    — Elsa Cavazos, refinery29.com, 4 Aug. 2022
  • So why do those who take offense at comedy feel the need to marshal campaigns against the comic?
    — Harry Bruinius, The Christian Science Monitor, 29 Nov. 2021
  • Basically, people are thin-skinned and quick to take offense.
    — Georgia Nicols, Denver Post, 7 June 2025
  • In the comments section of the post, many Reddit users felt the woman was in the right to take offense.
    — Stephanie Guerilus, People.com, 1 June 2025
  • Audrey smiled, but she’s been known to take offense when ElliQ is spoken to harshly.
    — Steve Lopez, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2023
  • When Katie objects, the music cuts out and Becky’s parents take offense.
    — William Vaillancourt, Rolling Stone, 9 Nov. 2025
  • Tip Above all else, grandparents should aim to be patient with new parents and avoid being quick to take offense.
    — Susan Adcox, Parents, 31 July 2024
  • Later, while turning over the sentences in her mind, Ann would take offense at their commonness.
    — Nicolette Polek, Harper's Magazine, 22 May 2024
  • Atkinson seemed to take offense to Gilgeous-Alexander and there was a brief exchange between the two.
    — Joe Vardon, The Athletic, 16 Jan. 2025
  • When calls are made, fans may support or take offense at the call on the field, adding an extra dimension of intensity to games.
    — Sheldon Jacobson, Boston Herald, 3 Jan. 2025
  • Driven apart by covid and politics, our society has become even more divided and withdrawn, quicker to take offense and place blame.
    — Pamela Constable, Washington Post, 21 Jan. 2023
  • Those who supported the decision couldn't understand the issue, asking why anyone would even take offense at the option.
    — Emma Flint, Wired, 2 Dec. 2021
  • But Pelosi celebrated their victories anyway and did not take offense, at least publicly, at their refusal to support her.
    — Michael Kazin, The New Republic, 23 Nov. 2022
  • The artist parried with mostly good humor, neither stooping to performative virtue nor being overly concerned with who might take offense.
    — Sergio Burstein, Los Angeles Times, 1 Sep. 2021
  • Some may wonder if EA might take offense to that spotlight, but according to Smith, the company was fully on board.
    — Jason Fanelli, Rolling Stone, 29 Nov. 2024
  • The comments that followed ranged from utter ignorance that anyone could take offense at receiving a link, to a spirited embrace of the power move.
    — Nicole Gull McElroy, Fortune, 4 Feb. 2022
  • Young didn’t take offense to the over-exuberant warnings, but noted the participants were not protesters.
    — Adam Beam, AJC.com, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Those looking to take offense can certainly find condescension in the sentiment — or probably in its tone, depending on how it is said.
    — Jacobina Martin, Washington Post, 16 Sep. 2022
  • Some take offense, while others see the too-far elements as deliberate subversions of upsetting concepts.
    — Peter Debruge, Variety, 14 May 2024
  • In the absurdist precincts of the climate blogosphere, certain gatekeepers take offense when their icons and orthodoxy are challenged.
    — Keith Kloor, Discover Magazine, 20 July 2011
  • Mama Rose needn’t take offense – the six-time Tony winner has the same decade-or-more aversion to all the cast recordings she’s made over the course of her groundbreaking career.
    — Joe Lynch, Billboard, 15 Oct. 2025
  • The South Korean public is not likely to take offense at Moon’s outreach to the Vatican.
    — Victor Gaetan, Foreign Affairs, 22 Sep. 2017
  • Some said the party’s biggest challenge would be finding a way to sideline her without inflaming key Democratic constituencies that would take offense.
    — Peter Baker, New York Times, 6 Feb. 2023
  • In the East, the New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers may take offense with Green's comment.
    — Robert Marvi, MSNBC Newsweek, 30 Oct. 2025

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'take offense.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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