Word.ws English Dictionary

Synonyms of offense

33 similar words · 2 opposite words

Another word for offense is wrong. Other synonyms of offense are crime, error, insult, sin and tort. The opposite of offense is defence.

Synonyms and similar words for offense

nounA crime or sin.

  • misdoingAn act of wrongdoing; a misdeed.
  • transgressionA violation of a law, duty or commandment.
  • wrongdoingAn instance of doing wrong.
  • crimeAny great sin or wickedness; iniquity.
  • delict
  • delinquencyA criminal offense.
  • errorSin; transgression.
  • malfeasanceWrongdoing.
  • misdeedThat which was done that should not have been, ranging from any sin or moral offense to various degrees of crime.
  • misdemeanorAny act of misbehavior.
  • peccadilloA petty offense.
  • sinA misdeed or wrong.
  • tortA wrongful act, whether intentional or negligent, regarded as non-criminal and unrelated to a contract, which causes an...
  • tortfeasanceThe condition, or an act, of doing wrong; the act of committing a tort.
  • venialityA venial (pardonable) action or an instance of venial behaviour.
  • villainy
  • wrongAn instance of wronging someone (sometimes with possessive to indicate the wrongdoer).

nounAn affront, injury, or insult.

  • disAny of a group of minor female deities in Scandinavian folklore.
  • put-downAn insult or barb; a snide or demeaning remark.
  • slight

nounThe state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.

nounMore synonyms

  • affrontAn open or intentional offense, slight, or insult.
  • barb
  • burn slang
  • diss slang
  • insultAction or form of speech deliberately intended to be rude; (countable) a particular act or statement having this effect.
  • pejorativeA disparaging, belittling, or derogatory word or expression.
  • slam US, colloquial
  • slur
  • insultation obsolete

Opposite of offense

nounA crime or sin.

  • defence
  • defense USA strategy and tactics employed to prevent the other team from scoring; contrasted with offense.

Meaning of offense

  1. noun A crime or sin.
  2. noun An affront, injury, or insult.
  3. noun The state of being offended or displeased; anger; displeasure.

Full definition of offense

offense in other languages

Questions about synonyms of offense

What is another word for offense?
Offense has 33 synonyms on Word.ws, such as wrong, crime, error, insult, sin, tort, transgression and misdemeanor.
What is the opposite of offense?
The opposite of offense is defence.
What does offense mean?
Offense means a crime or sin.

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: offense (page history and authors) and the entries of the words listed. Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws grouped the synonyms and antonyms by meaning and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this page: “Synonyms of offense.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/synonyms/offense. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.