variants
or offences
1
as in crimes
a breaking of a moral or legal code
wartime offenses that are crimes against all of humanity
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assaults
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
combat casualties grew enormously as the weapons of offense became far more technologically advanced than defensive armor
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in outrages
an act or expression showing scorn and usually intended to hurt another's feelings
a diplomat never deliberately gives offense
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
4
as in resentments
the feeling of being offended or resentful after a slight or indignity
my mother was prone to take offense even at the most innocent remark
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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.
Recent Examples of offenses
These are three contenders that generally have some of the best offenses in the NFL.
—
Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
With three of the next four opponents having offenses ranking in the bottom 10 in yards per game, the time is now for the Cowboys’ defense to figure out its issues before the gauntlet that awaits in November and December.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
The trajectory of the game flipped on Leo Chenal’s interception of Lamar Jackson as the defense muzzled one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
After becoming the Grizzlies’ director of player development, LaRoche implemented the CLA in a similar way as Cleveland’s coaches, but took it a step further to eliminate most of the early action pick-and-rolls that had become core to most NBA offenses in the past decade.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Warner suggested that the changes to kickoffs ultimately provide too much of a competitive edge to offenses.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025
That's because the Lions are facing off against the Baltimore Ravens tonight on Monday Night Football in a matchup of two of the NFL's best offenses.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Hinshaw largely stood by Routh and pushed back when prosecutors sought to highlight Hinshaw's rap sheet of larceny offenses.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2025
Under 2014’s Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for most drug and theft offenses, people arrested for possession of hard drugs or for shoplifting less than $950 in goods were often cited and released.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Sep. 2025
Reice Shipley, MSNBC Newsweek, 29 Sep. 2025
With three of the next four opponents having offenses ranking in the bottom 10 in yards per game, the time is now for the Cowboys’ defense to figure out its issues before the gauntlet that awaits in November and December.
—Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 29 Sep. 2025
The trajectory of the game flipped on Leo Chenal’s interception of Lamar Jackson as the defense muzzled one of the NFL’s most potent offenses.
—Kansas City Star, 29 Sep. 2025
After becoming the Grizzlies’ director of player development, LaRoche implemented the CLA in a similar way as Cleveland’s coaches, but took it a step further to eliminate most of the early action pick-and-rolls that had become core to most NBA offenses in the past decade.
—Jared Weiss, New York Times, 29 Sep. 2025
Warner suggested that the changes to kickoffs ultimately provide too much of a competitive edge to offenses.
—Chantz Martin, FOXNews.com, 28 Sep. 2025
That's because the Lions are facing off against the Baltimore Ravens tonight on Monday Night Football in a matchup of two of the NFL's best offenses.
—Christian Romo, Freep.com, 22 Sep. 2025
Hinshaw largely stood by Routh and pushed back when prosecutors sought to highlight Hinshaw's rap sheet of larceny offenses.
—Peter Charalambous, ABC News, 22 Sep. 2025
Under 2014’s Proposition 47, which reduced penalties for most drug and theft offenses, people arrested for possession of hard drugs or for shoplifting less than $950 in goods were often cited and released.
—Kelly Davis, San Diego Union-Tribune, 21 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offenses
Noun
-
Lance Wilson, a public-relations professional who works with the Anti Police-Terror Project, warned that the council might loosen the restrictions further, potentially allowing chases for lesser crimes, such as burglary.—
Shomik Mukherjee,
Mercury News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
The bill would mandate prison terms of up to five years for someone entering or reentering the country illegally and stiffer penalties for those who commit certain crimes.—
David Lightman,
Sacbee.com,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
That's my biggest fear every night, especially with these increases [in assaults], that everyone gets home safe every night.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Starting in the early '70s, Shakur had frequent run-ins with law enforcement, her name appearing as a person of interest for bank robberies and several violent assaults on police officers.—
Anna Kaufman,
USA Today,
26 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
This shame campaign, of course, is unlikely to put a dent in the NFL’s bottom line, just as previous outrages have failed to rattle this juggernaut, still the largest professional athletic league in the world by revenue.—
Miles Klee,
Rolling Stone,
16 Sep. 2025
-
As a result of that and other outrages, in 2008 voters passed Proposition 11, the Voters FIRST Act.—
The Editorial Board,
Oc Register,
7 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Things change, and antagonisms and jealousies and resentments that weren’t there before emerge.—
Jennifer Wilson,
New Yorker,
28 Sep. 2025
-
My question is how to get the most out of this reunion without sitting around rehashing old issues/resentments and complaining about our parents, especially our mother.—
R. Eric Thomas,
Mercury News,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
Glen Powell’s rapid ascent from working actor to movie star constitutes one of Hollywood’s great charm offensives.—
Judy Berman,
Time,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Future offensives by Russia would then become strategically futile, and thus not worth attempting.—
ANDRIY ZAGORODNYUK,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
The Long Walk is unsparing in its depiction of violence, as well as the other indignities the boys face along the way.—
Louis Peitzman,
Vulture,
11 Sep. 2025
-
Today, the Court needlessly subjects countless more to these exact same indignities.—
Dan Gooding
Hannah Parry,
MSNBC Newsweek,
8 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
There have been at least 50 ambush-style attacks on law enforcement this year, resulting in 66 officers being shot, 15 of them fatally, according to the report.—
Bill Hutchinson,
ABC News,
26 Sep. 2025
-
Poor weather and battlefield obscurants continue to endanger warfighters as adversaries rely on these conditions to escape attacks.—
Prabhat Ranjan Mishra,
Interesting Engineering,
25 Sep. 2025
Noun
-
During the speech, however, Kemp periodically deviated from building up Astra to hurling insults at several of his competitors in the launch industry.—
Eric Berger,
ArsTechnica,
25 Sep. 2025
-
Kimmel has been a frequent target, with the two trading insults.—
Dominick Mastrangelo,
The Hill,
18 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Offenses.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offenses. Accessed 1 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share