Adjacent Words

Offense definitions

	Tweet

Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OFFENSE, n. offens'. [L. offensus, offensa.]
1. Displeasure; anger, or moderate anger. He gave them just cause of offense. He took offense.
2. Scandal; cause of stumbling. Christ is called a stone of stumbling and rock of offense to both the houses of Israel. Psalms 8.
3. Any transgression of law, divine or human; a crime; sin; act of wickedness or omission of duty.
Christ was delivered for our offenses, and raised again for our justification. Romans 4.
4. An injury.
I have given my opinion against the authority of two great men, but I hope without offense to their memories.
5. Attack; assault; as a weapon of offense.
6. Impediment. Matthew 16.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

n
1: a lack of politeness; a failure to show regard for others; wounding the feelings or others [syn: discourtesy, offense, offence, offensive activity]
2: a feeling of anger caused by being offended; "he took offence at my question" [syn: umbrage, offense, offence]
3: (criminal law) an act punishable by law; usually considered an evil act; "a long record of crimes" [syn: crime, offense, criminal offense, criminal offence, offence, law-breaking]
4: the team that has the ball (or puck) and is trying to score [syn: offense, offence] [ant: defence, defending team, defense]
5: the action of attacking an enemy [syn: offense, offence, offensive]

Merriam Webster's

or offence noun Etymology: Middle English, from Anglo-French, from Latin offensa, from feminine of offensus, past participle of offendere Date: 14th century 1. a. obsolete an act of stumbling b. archaic a cause or occasion of sin ; stumbling block 2. something that outrages the moral or physical senses 3. a. the act of attacking ; assault b. the means or method of attacking or of attempting to score c. the offensive team or members of a team playing offensive positions d. scoring ability 4. a. the act of displeasing or affronting b. the state of being insulted or morally outraged <takes offense at the slightest criticism> 5. a. a breach of a moral or social code ; sin, misdeed b. an infraction of law; especially misdemeanor • offenseless adjective Synonyms: offense, resentment, umbrage, pique, dudgeon, huff mean an emotional response to or an emotional state resulting from a slight or indignity. offense implies hurt displeasure <takes deep offense at racial slurs>. resentment suggests lasting indignation or ill will <harbored a lifelong resentment of his brother>. umbrage may suggest hurt pride, resentment, or suspicion of another's motives <took umbrage at the offer of advice>. pique applies to a transient feeling of wounded vanity <in a pique I foolishly declined the invitation>. dudgeon suggests an angry fit of indignation <stormed out of the meeting in high dudgeon>. huff implies a peevish short-lived spell of anger usually at a petty cause <in a huff he slammed the door>. Synonyms: offense, sin, vice, crime, scandal mean a transgression of law. offense applies to the infraction of any law, rule, or code <at that school no offense went unpunished>. sin implies an offense against moral or religious law <the sin of blasphemy>. vice applies to a habit or practice that degrades or corrupts <regarded gambling as a vice>. crime implies a serious offense punishable by the law of the state <the crime of murder>. scandal applies to an offense that outrages the public conscience <a career ruined by a sex scandal>.

Oxford Reference Dictionary

US var. of OFFENCE.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Offense Of*fense", Offence Of*fence", n. [F., fr. L. offensa. See Offend.] 1. The act of offending in any sense; esp., a crime or a sin, an affront or an injury. Who was delivered for our offenses, and was raised again for our justification. --Rom. iv. 25. I have given my opinion against the authority of two great men, but I hope without offense to their memories. --Dryden. 2. The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure. He was content to give them just cause of offense, when they had power to make just revenge. --Sir P. Sidney. 3. A cause or occasion of stumbling or of sin. [Obs.] Woe to that man by whom the offense cometh! --Matt. xviii. 7. Note: This word, like expense, is often spelled with a c. It ought, however, to undergo the same change with expense, the reasons being the same, namely, that s must be used in offensive as in expensive, and is found in the Latin offensio, and the French offense. To take offense, to feel, or assume to be, injured or affronted; to become angry or hostile. Weapons of offense, those which are used in attack, in distinction from those of defense, which are used to repel. Syn: Displeasure; umbrage; resentment; misdeed; misdemeanor; trespass; transgression; delinquency; fault; sin; crime; affront; indignity; outrage; insult.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

see offence

Moby Thesaurus

affront, aggravated assault, aggression, amphibious attack, angry look, armed assault, aspersion, assailing, assailment, assault, atrocity, attack, bad faith, banzai attack, blitz, blitzkrieg, breach, breach of contract, breach of faith, breach of privilege, breach of promise, breach of trust, breaking, breakthrough, brickbat, casus belli, charge, contempt, contravention, contumely, counterattack, counteroffensive, coup de main, crime, crime against humanity, crippling attack, cut, dead set at, deadly sin, delict, delinquency, dereliction, descent on, despite, dirty look, diversion, diversionary attack, drive, dudgeon, dump, enormity, error, evil, failure, fault, felony, flank attack, flout, flouting, frontal attack, frown, gas attack, genocide, gibe, glare, glower, guilty act, head-on attack, heavy sin, huff, humiliation, illegality, impropriety, indignity, indiscretion, inexpiable sin, infiltration, infraction, infringement, iniquity, injury, injustice, insult, jeer, jeering, lapse, lightning attack, lightning war, malefaction, malfeasance, malum, mass attack, megadeath, miff, minor wrong, misdeed, misdemeanor, misfeasance, mock, mockery, mortal sin, mugging, nonfeasance, offensive, omission, onset, onslaught, outrage, overkill, panzer warfare, peccadillo, peccancy, pique, provocation, push, put-down, raw nerve, red rag, resentment, run against, run at, rush, sally, scoff, scowl, scurrility, shock tactics, sin, sin of commission, sin of omission, sinful act, slip, snuff, sore point, sore spot, sortie, strike, taunt, tender spot, tort, transgression, trespass, trip, umbrage, uncomplimentary remark, unprovoked assault, unutterable sin, venial sin, violation, wrong, wrongdoing