Synonyms for offend
Synonyms by meaning
Verb
1. Hurt — to hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult
hurt, insult, provoke, outrage, affront, rile, displease, annoy, irritate, vex, shock, disgust, wound, injure, upset, exasperate, anger, spite, scandalize, scandalise UK, pain, gall, incense
2. Transgress
transgress, violate, go against, sin, err, break, fall, breach, infract, infringe, contravene, trespass dated
Definitions
- v. 1
To hurt the feelings of; to displease; to make angry; to insult.
Your accusations offend me deeply.
- v. 2
To feel or become offended; to take insult.
Don't worry. I don't offend easily.
Related words
- Word family
- offendedness offender offense offensive
- Is a kind of
- discompose provoke revile ruffle stir up
Forms
- Past participle
- offended
e.g. offended → insulted, provoked, outraged, affronted…
Choose the right word
Aggravate in the sense of offend is colloquial.
J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)
Example sentences
- hurt I don't want to hurt Tom, but I will if I have to.
- insult An injury is much sooner forgotten than an insult.
- outrage The illegal dump in the park is a source of outrage.
- affront The coup d'etat in Brazil is an affront to democracy.
- violate These factories violate multiple health regulations.
- transgress You think you can transgress the law?
By length
- 3 letters
- sin1, err1, vex1
- 4 letters
- fall1, pain1, hurt1, trip1, gall1, rile1
- 5 letters
- break1, upset2, shock1, anger2, wound1, spite1, annoy2, pique1
- 6 letters
- breach1, insult2, injure2
- 7 letters
- outrage2, violate3, disgust2, provoke2, incense2, affront2, infract
- 8 letters
- irritate3, trespass2, infringe2
- 9 letters
- displease2, disoblige
- 10 letters
- transgress2, contravene3, exasperate4, scandalize3, scandalise
The small number after each word is its number of syllables (upset2 = 2 syllables).