as in insulting
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Dissimilar Words
1
as in trespassing
to commit an offense
since this is the first time you've offended, we'll let you off lightly
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in outraging
to cause hurt feelings or deep resentment in
the visitor unintentionally offended his hosts terribly by failing to compliment them on the elaborately prepared meal
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in violating
to fail to keep
offended conventional standards of uniformity by not adhering to the company dress code
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
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Recent Examples of offending
Oc Register, 18 May 2026
Charles has since apologized and deleted the offending TikTok, but the controversy continues, igniting social media discourse.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
By the next day, Google had pulled down the offending videos.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 May 2026
Place a bowl of coffee grounds in the offending area (or, in the case of your shoes, place dry grounds in an old sock or cloth tied up and leave overnight inside the shoe) and let the grounds absorb unpleasant odors, says Rocky Vuong, founder of Calibre Cleaning Unlimited.
—Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026
Co-offending refers to when two or more offenders participate in a crime.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
The Washington Post, which broke the news, ran the offending word in both its headline and story.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Something seems to be afoot, since the offending robots were operated by two different companies.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
The Defringe option in Affinity improves matters, but the software doesn't have an eyedropper to hone in on the offending shade of magenta.
—Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, 13 Mar. 2026
Toby Axelrod, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
The collection was packed away in the museum’s vault, untouched for decades to avoid offending Islamic values or creating the appearance of catering to Western sensibilities.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Baselitz was charged with offending public morality; the case dragged on for two years before being dismissed, but his reputation was cemented.
—News Desk, Artforum, 1 May 2026
The image of an officer peering into the empty driver’s seat of the offending vehicle may have been good for a chuckle, but other incidents have been no laughing matter.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Their offending products could also be blocked in the state.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
The offending vehicle fled in an unknown direction.
—Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Public supporters of the fines agreed that civil procedures against offending landlords were more expensive and time consuming than introducing higher fees.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Use your quick wit when asking questions to avoid accidentally offending anyone.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2026
Adjective
Occasionally, some nitwit will play chicken with the offending lane changer, get in front of him or her, and stop the car in the middle of the road to continue with verbal and nonverbal critique of the offender’s driving skills.
—Oc Register, 18 May 2026
Charles has since apologized and deleted the offending TikTok, but the controversy continues, igniting social media discourse.
—Dani Di Placido, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026
By the next day, Google had pulled down the offending videos.
—Todd Spangler, Variety, 14 May 2026
Place a bowl of coffee grounds in the offending area (or, in the case of your shoes, place dry grounds in an old sock or cloth tied up and leave overnight inside the shoe) and let the grounds absorb unpleasant odors, says Rocky Vuong, founder of Calibre Cleaning Unlimited.
—Alexandra Kelly, Martha Stewart, 9 May 2026
Co-offending refers to when two or more offenders participate in a crime.
—Rosemary Feitelberg, Footwear News, 1 May 2026
The Washington Post, which broke the news, ran the offending word in both its headline and story.
—Harmeet Kaur, CNN Money, 8 Apr. 2026
Something seems to be afoot, since the offending robots were operated by two different companies.
—Frank Landymore, Futurism, 26 Mar. 2026
The Defringe option in Affinity improves matters, but the software doesn't have an eyedropper to hone in on the offending shade of magenta.
—Michael Muchmore, PC Magazine, 13 Mar. 2026
Verb
Today, some of the offending posts are gone.
—Toby Axelrod, Sun Sentinel, 11 May 2026
The collection was packed away in the museum’s vault, untouched for decades to avoid offending Islamic values or creating the appearance of catering to Western sensibilities.
—ABC News, 8 May 2026
Baselitz was charged with offending public morality; the case dragged on for two years before being dismissed, but his reputation was cemented.
—News Desk, Artforum, 1 May 2026
The image of an officer peering into the empty driver’s seat of the offending vehicle may have been good for a chuckle, but other incidents have been no laughing matter.
—Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 1 May 2026
Their offending products could also be blocked in the state.
—Ashley Belanger, ArsTechnica, 1 May 2026
The offending vehicle fled in an unknown direction.
—Jeramie Bizzle, CBS News, 25 Apr. 2026
Public supporters of the fines agreed that civil procedures against offending landlords were more expensive and time consuming than introducing higher fees.
—Claire Murphy, Chicago Tribune, 16 Apr. 2026
Use your quick wit when asking questions to avoid accidentally offending anyone.
—Tarot.com, Baltimore Sun, 10 Apr. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offending
Adjective
-
Instead, this just looks like virtue signaling to justify his controversial move to Baton Rouge, which is insulting to people actually affected by what the University of Mississippi represents.—
Bobby Burack OutKick,
FOXNews.com,
15 May 2026
-
The 39-year-old man from Stowmarket, Suffolk, was charged with two counts of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behavior to harass, cause alarm or distress and failing to provide a blood specimen in custody.—
Janine Henni,
PEOPLE,
12 May 2026
Verb
-
Walking on private ground without permission is clearly trespassing in Montana.—
Natalie Krebs,
Outdoor Life,
14 May 2026
-
Residents of the Pyramid Acres subdivision in southwest Tarrant County say landowner Nancy Rimmer has unlawfully blocked their access to Bear Creek, a navigable public waterway, by posting no-trespassing signs, installing surveillance cameras and hiring armed guards.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
6 May 2026
Verb
-
On Day 1 of the truce, and in the days since, Israel has stepped up attacks against Hezbollah, an Iranian proxy, in Lebanon, outraging Iran and leading to accusations the terms had been breached.—
Justin Fishel,
ABC News,
10 Apr. 2026
Verb
-
Twenty defendants — including guards on duty while McElroy was in labor, a nurse, a physician’s assistant and the county sheriff, who runs the jail — are named in the complaint and accused of violating her constitutional rights.—
Abigail Brooks,
NBC news,
13 May 2026
-
Former mayoral candidate Paul Vallas is being fined $214,000 for violating campaign finance rules by accepting excessive contributions from people who were doing business with the city, the Chicago Board of Ethics announced yesterday.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
13 May 2026
Adjective
-
But Detroit’s damning offensive flaws, which its defense compensated for during the regular season, were exposed by the Cavs.—
Hunter Patterson,
New York Times,
18 May 2026
-
Offensively, Jackson looked good at quarterback, especially creating big plays out of nothing when his offensive line broke down.—
Chris Hays,
The Orlando Sentinel,
17 May 2026
Verb
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The magnificent luminosity of the orbs announced their arrival, their glow falling unfamiliar against windowpanes, which drew the people to the street.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
20 May 2026
-
The mismatch between workers and available jobs—a key barometer of labor market stress—has actually improved since that moment, falling below its pre-pandemic level.—
Nick Lichtenberg,
Fortune,
19 May 2026
Verb
-
Nvidia’s GPUs, first developed in 1999 for rendering graphics on computers and gaming consoles, function by breaking complex computing problems into smaller tasks and resolving them simultaneously.—
Matthew Chin,
CNBC,
19 May 2026
-
The two string-breaking simulations are among the first to model particle interactions in two spatial dimensions, González-Cuadra says.—
Zeeya Merali,
Scientific American,
19 May 2026
Adjective
-
Is God Is is a story about twin sisters Racine (Kara Young) and Anaia (Mallori Johnson), tasked with killing their abusive, absentee father at the request of their mother.—
Mya Abraham,
VIBE.com,
19 May 2026
-
Bravo, a 28-year-old hair instructor and mother of three, was ending a years-long abusive relationship with Lee in the days before she was found dead, her family said.—
Sacbee.com,
Sacbee.com,
19 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offending. Accessed 21 May. 2026.
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