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.

Other Word Forms

• offendedly adverb
• offendedness noun
• half-offended adjective
• unoffended adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of offended¹

offend ( def. ) + -ed ²

Example Sentences

"In the 2000s, I remember people being put off if you told them maybe you should have a glass of water… and they would be really offended."

From BBC

But I understand how the words used could have offended many people beyond the tennis court.

From BBC

We couldn’t even picture a future time when provable facts about our nation’s history would be rewritten to protect some of us from being offended by nasty truths.

From Salon

"The album is not for any pearl clutchers," she told CBS News, with reference to prim, prudish or easily offended people.

From BBC

According to Sung, Marcotte was offended after he looked through her TikTok page and told her husband, who had just arrived, that they weren’t going to eat at the restaurant.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• angry 
• annoyed 
• exasperated 
• insulted www.thesaurus.com
• outraged www.thesaurus.com