offending 1 of 2

adjective

Definition of offendingnext
as in insulting

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

offending

2 of 2

verb

present participle of offend
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

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for offending
  1. insulting
  2. trespassing
  3. violating
  4. offensive
  5. falling
  6. breaking
  7. abusive
  8. wandering
Adjective
  • This disastrous budget is even more insulting as Los Angeles County grapples with the devastation from four major fires.
    Bill Essayli, Orange County Register, 11 Jan. 2025
  • Hinchcliffe, who is not Puerto Rican, was just plain cruel, insulting and dehumanizing.
    David Plazas, The Tennessean, 29 Oct. 2024
Definition of insulting
Verb
  • Downey said most off-roader-related calls have been logged as trespassing complaints.
    Karina Atkins, Chicago Tribune, 29 Dec. 2024
  • The nonprofit tried to stop homeless people from trespassing in the building during the past few months by covering doors and installing fencing.
    Summer Lin, Los Angeles Times, 27 Dec. 2024
Definition of trespassing
Verb
  • Even in districts that have staff dedicated to teaching Black history, some teachers are afraid of violating state law, according to Brian Knowles, who oversees African American, Holocaust and Latino studies for the Palm Beach County school district.
    Kate Payne, Orlando Sentinel, 23 Dec. 2024
  • That year, the campaign finance regulator separately found that Wyss’s groups failed to provide evidence of certain grant agreements upon conservatives accusing him of violating laws on foreign nationals making donations.
    Gabe Kaminsky, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 22 Dec. 2024
Definition of violating
Adjective
  • There are series with lazy writing, shallow characters, boring plots and even offensive elements.
    Kelly Lawler, USA TODAY, 8 Jan. 2025
  • With their offensive leader off his game, plenty of Gators picked up the slack.
    Edgar Thompson, Orlando Sentinel, 8 Jan. 2025
Definition of offensive
Verb
  • Clearly, this only constitutes a small blip as things stand and hardly a sign everything is falling apart.
    Simon Johnson, The Athletic, 31 Dec. 2024
  • The Sacramento Kings have made a major organizational move after their fourth straight loss falling them to a 13-18 record.
    Evan Sidery, Forbes, 31 Dec. 2024
Definition of falling
Verb
  • Epic parties to kid-friendly fun Nour Rahal is a trending and breaking news reporter.
    Nour Rahal, Detroit Free Press, 24 Dec. 2024
  • Click here to have breaking news alerts sent directly to your inbox.
    Rafael Olmeda, Sun Sentinel, 24 Dec. 2024
Definition of breaking
Adjective
  • Pernice was one of the biggest dance stars on the country’s biggest show until early 2024 when he was accused of abusive behaviour by actress Amanda Abbington, who quit the show in 2023 and later made a complaint about Pernice to the BBC.
    Caroline Frost, Deadline, 5 Jan. 2025
  • Expand All In the span of just over a decade, Key Biscayne police received a series of complaints about a gymnastic coach’s allegedly abusive behavior with young girls, police reports and interviews with the Herald reveal.
    Clara-Sophia Daly, Miami Herald, 2 Jan. 2025
Definition of abusive
Verb
  • Spend your days absorbing its wartime history, wandering the outdoor markets, dining on seafood, rejuvenating at a spa, or hiking secluded coastal trails before lolling on the white-sand beaches.
    Peggy Orenstein, AFAR Media, 6 Jan. 2025
  • Cohen and colleagues have published several studies showing an increase in the polar vortex stretching or wandering.
    CBS News, CBS News, 4 Jan. 2025
Definition of wandering
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near offending

offenders

offending

offends

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Offending.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offending. Accessed 18 Jan. 2025.

Copy Citation

Share

More from Merriam-Webster on offending

Nglish: Translation of offending for Spanish Speakers

Britannica English: Translation of offending for Arabic Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Using Bullet Points ( • )

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

Top 12 Sophisticated Compliments

Word of the Year 2024 | Polarization

Terroir, Oenophile, & Magnum: Ten Words About Wine

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
white rubber duck stands out in a row of yellow ducks
Odd Word Out: Synonyms Quiz Figure out which word isn't like the others.