Word family noun offense/offense offender offensive offensiveness adjective offensive ≠ inoffensive offended offending verb offend adverb offensively
From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishoffensiveof‧fen‧sive1 /əˈfensɪv/ ●●○ adjective 1 RUDE/IMPOLITEvery rude or insulting and likely to upset people OPP inoffensive I found her remarks deeply offensive.offensive to crude jokes that are offensive to women offensive behaviour► see thesaurus at rude2 formalUNPLEASANT very unpleasant an offensive smell3 [only before noun]PMATTACK for attacking → defensive1(1) Jan was convicted of possessing an offensive weapon. The troops took up offensive positions.4 American EnglishDS relating to getting points and winning a game, rather than stopping the other team from getting points OPP defensive the Jets’ offensive strategy —offensively adverb Rick’s remarks were offensively racist. —offensiveness noun [uncountable]Examples from the Corpus
offensive• Apparently some viewers found the show offensive.• How could he be so offensive as to stare at the chap's disfigured face, he wondered.• Walsh returns as an administrative assistant to Seifert and will work closely with second-year offensive coordinator Marc Trestman.• He is particularly curious about the offensive line, which was beset by injuries and poor performances last season.• the offensive player of the year• The 49ers' first four offensive plays included an interception, a sack and a lost fumble.• Government troops took up offensive positions.• The BBC received a number of complaints about the offensive remarks made during the interview.• Throughout the football game a small section of the crowd was chanting offensive slogans.• Your comments are offensive to all Jews.• This was offensive to Hinduism, his critics yelled.• These pornographic magazines are deeply offensive to women.• He was convicted of carrying an offensive weapon and got a 28-day suspended sentence and £200 fine.• offensive weaponsoffensive to• The novel has been criticized for being offensive to Muslims.offensive weapon• It says it's an offence for anyone to be carrying an offensive weapon.• Joshua Morris stood in line waiting to be searched for an offensive weapon.• Nothing is more empowering than towering over your boyfriend and your boss in shoes that double as an offensive weapon.• The commuter was prosecuted, found guilty of carrying an offensive weapon, and fined.• Police had considered taking action against David as they said he was carrying an offensive weapon his bendy rubber truncheon.• He appealed to Khrushchev to remove the offensive weapons under United Nations supervision.• Moreover, in the 1930s offensive weapons were openly and legally sold.offensiveoffensive2 noun [countable] 1 PMATTACKa planned military attack involving large forces over a long period a military offensive A major offensive was launched on August 22.2 → go on the offensive3 → charm/diplomatic offensiveExamples from the Corpus
offensive• Government troops launched an offensive against UNITA positions in the north.• The government offensive in Arakan was only part of a broader offensive launched against rebel forces in late 1991.• The failure of the Guadalajara offensive marked the end of a period of change discernible in Franco's military tactics.• The great military offensive had failed, and it seemed victory was escaping them.• The rebel offensive resumed on Thursday, leaving 12 dead and many injured.• Before the offensive began he had tried in vain to impress this upon his superiors.• In the view of many analysts here, they did not have to create the impression that they are on the offensive.offensive ... launched• An offensive must be launched, she thought feverishly.• The government offensive in Arakan was only part of a broader offensive launched against rebel forces in late 1991.• At the same time it launched an ideological offensive launched to justify this approach to solving the crisis. 