be offensive

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

There was also the news that council districts in Northern England had instructed schoolteachers not to encourage children in classrooms to draw any pictures that might be offensive to Muslims.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 16, 2026

If a doctor uses “you” incorrectly with a patient, it could be offensive, Wong said.

From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 17, 2024

Spectrum WT sued, arguing that drag wasn’t designed to be offensive and portraying it as a celebration of many things, including “queerness, gender, acceptance, love and especially femininity.”

From Seattle Times • Mar. 15, 2024

"A few participants said they found it funny but seemed embarrassed to say this and could recognise why it would be offensive," the media regulator's report said.

From BBC • Oct. 31, 2023

In the third place, culture will be favoured by all those people who know their own character to be offensive or tiresome, and wish to draw a veil of so-called “good form” over them.

From Thoughts Out of Season (Part II) by Nietzsche, Friedrich Wilhelm