Mammoth Memory

Offensive – 1. an attack on someone or something 2. causing upset

PRONOUNCE OFFENSIVE

(Pronounced uh-fen-siv)

REMEMBER MEANING OF OFFENSIVE

To remember the definition of the word offensive, use the following mnemonic:

He pushed the cat off the fence with a sieve (offensive) and now it was upset, and launched an attack on him.

 He offended a cat by pushing it off the fence with a sieve and now it was upset (offensive 1), so it launched an attack (offensive 2) on him.

 

Examples of offensive in a sentence (An attack on someone or something)

The army unit mounted a night-time offensive and caught the enemy off-guard.

The offensive on the city lasted a whole week.

He launched a verbal offensive on his office colleagues.

 

Examples of offensive in a sentence (Causing upset)

She found it offensive that he failed to apologise for arriving half an hour late for their date.

He didn't care who he was offensive to — he managed to insult everyone at the party.

I find your choice of words most offensive.

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