offensive
adjective · noun
Simple meaning
Causing anger or annoyance.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhfehnsivSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈfɛnsɪv
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
adjective
Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation.
Causing anger or annoyance
Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
sports
Having to do with play directed at scoring.
noun
uncountable
The posture of attacking or being able to attack.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation.
Used this way, offensive is a reasonably familiar word carrying real weight of difficulty or hurt. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Strongly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Offensive is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Nearby words
- noisome , more formal, and heavier in everyday conversation
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use offensive
- “Some found the joke offensive, but he didn't mean any harm.”
Share your sentence
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: causing offense
Antonyms
Sense: causing offense
Use This Word
See how this word sounds in a real sentence.
Ask Vocabaura
Understand the word your way.
What Does It Mean Here?
Words can change meaning depending on context.
Use it yourself
Knowing “offensive” starts when you use it. Pick a next step, all free.
Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.