I. of ‧ fen ‧ sive 1 /əˈfensɪv/ BrE AmE adjective
[ Word Family: noun : OFFENSE/OFFENSE , ↑ offender , ↑ offensive , ↑ offensiveness ; adjective : ↑ offensive ≠ ↑ inoffensive , ↑ offended , ↑ offending ; verb : ↑ offend ; adverb : ↑ offensively ]
1 . very 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
2 . formal very unpleasant:
an offensive smell
3 . [only before noun] for attacking ⇨ ↑ defensive 1 (1):
Jan was convicted of possessing an offensive weapon.
The troops took up offensive positions.
4 . American English 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]
• • •
THESAURUS
▪ rude not following the rules of good social behaviour or treating other people with a lack of respect:
It’s rude to interrupt.
|
He’s the rudest man I’ve ever met.
|
rude remarks about her stomach
▪ impolite/not polite not following the rules of good social behaviour. Impolite sounds rather formal:
It is impolite to stare.
|
It’s not polite to talk with your mouth full of food.
▪ cheeky British English , smart/sassy American English behaving in a way that is a little rude, especially when this is amusing or annoying – used especially about children:
a cheeky grin
|
Let go, you cheeky monkey (=cheeky child) !
|
Don’t get smart with me!
▪ tactless saying things that are likely to upset or embarrass someone, without intending to:
a tactless remark
|
How could you be so tactless?
▪ offensive speaking or behaving in a way that is likely to upset or offend someone:
His remarks are offensive to African-Americans.
|
offensive language
▪ insulting speaking or behaving in a way that is very rude and offensive to someone:
comments that are insulting to women
|
The article was full of insulting language.
▪ discourteous /dɪsˈkɜːtiəs $ -ɜːr-/ formal rather rude. Discourteous sounds very formal and is often used when talking about being careful not to upset someone’s feelings:
He did not wish to appear discourteous towards his host.
|
It would seem discourteous to refuse her offer.
▪ ill-mannered ( also bad-mannered ) especially written behaving in a rude way, especially because you have never been taught how to behave politely:
Ill-mannered movie-goers talked throughout the entire picture.
|
It was very bad-mannered.
▪ disrespectful not showing the proper respect for someone or something:
I felt her comments were disrespectful to all the people who have worked so hard on this project.
▪ impertinent formal not showing a proper respect for someone, especially by asking or talking about subjects that you do not have a right to know about:
an impertinent question about his private life
|
an impertinent young man
|
Would it be impertinent to ask how old you are?
▪ insolent formal behaving in a way that is deliberately very rude to someone in authority:
The girl’s only response was an insolent stare.
|
Don’t be so insolent!
▪ impudent formal rude, and having no respect for people who are older or more important:
The boy gave an impudent smile.
▪ irreverent showing a lack of respect for someone or something who people are supposed to respect – used especially about comedy programmes and newspaper articles:
an irreverent look at the week’s events
|
his irreverent sense of humour
II. offensive 2 BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Word Family: noun : OFFENSE/OFFENSE , ↑ offender , ↑ offensive , ↑ offensiveness ; adjective : ↑ offensive ≠ ↑ inoffensive , ↑ offended , ↑ offending ; verb : ↑ offend ; adverb : ↑ offensively ]
1 . a 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 offensive ( also take the offensive ) to start attacking or criticizing someone before they start attacking or criticizing you:
Republicans went on the offensive over soaring gasoline prices.
The international coalition was ready to take the offensive.
3 . charm/diplomatic offensive a planned set of actions intended to influence a lot of people