offensive

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/əˈfɛnsɪv/

US:USA pronunciation: IPAUSA pronunciation: IPA/əˈfɛnsɪv or, for 4,5, ˈɔfɛn-, ˈɑfɛn-/

US:USA pronunciation: respellingUSA pronunciation: respelling(ə fensiv or, for 4, 5, ôfen-, ofen-)


Collocations for "offensive"


Common phrases and expressions where native English speakers use the word "offensive" in context.

WordReference English Collocations © 2025

offensive

Most examples are given in US English. We have labeled exceptions as UK.
adj
  1. an offensive [person, man, woman]
  2. an offensive [comment, remark, reply, article]
  3. I find those [comments] offensive
  4. deeply, extremely, slightly, highly] offensive
  5. [delete, monitor, report] offensive content
  6. was using offensive [language, words]
  7. is [viewed, considered, taken] as offensive
  8. didn't mean to [be, sound, appear] offensive
  9. didn't [say, do] anything offensive
  10. is offensive to [most, some] (people)
  11. [possess, brandish, carry] an offensive weapon
n
  1. a [military, marine, political] offensive
  2. [need, time] to take the offensive
  3. [launched, plotted, carried out, began] the offensive
  4. an offensive to [defeat, retake, gain, eliminate]
  5. an offensive against [crime, discrimination, drugs]
'offensive' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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