offended

[ uh-fen-did ]

adjective

1. feeling or expressing hurt, indignation, or irritation because of a perceived wrong or insult:

   The man replied in an offended voice, "My niece would never do anything like that!"

2. being the recipient or victim of criminal or morally repugnant behavior:

   After the referral agent and the offender speak, the offended individual is invited to speak about how the assault affected them.

3. (of a sense, taste, etc.) affected disagreeably:

   With the bright neon blue and red, the dress looked like clown garb, so my offended aesthetic sense told me to take it off.

verb

1. the simple past tense and past participle of offend ( def ).

Other Words From

• of·fend·ed·ly adverb
• of·fend·ed·ness noun
• half-of·fend·ed adjective
• un·of·fend·ed adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of offended¹

offend ( def ) + -ed ²

Example Sentences

"And it's not just women who are offended - plenty of men are too, it's just that far too few of them have the host called out on his bad behaviour."

From BBC

Though she told investigators she remembered hearing Lillienfeld’s comments about the Black women “jumping him,” she said she wasn’t offended.

From Los Angeles Times

It seems like there isn’t a group of people not offended by Jacques Audiard’s musical soap opera about a Mexican cartel boss looking to transition to a woman.

From Los Angeles Times

Garcia was offended, but he also felt fear: “What if we did something wrong?” he would ask himself.

From Los Angeles Times

Still, the report says, she told the sergeant she was offended by Lillienfeld’s presentation, especially the comments he’d allegedly made singling out the two Black women as hypothetical suspects.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• angry
• annoyed
• exasperated
• insulted
• outraged