
off | off: adv. 1 away, out, elsewhere: His secretary said that he''d gone off for the weekend. 2 distant, away, afar, far-off: The U-boat was a mile off. Christmas is only a month off. --adj. 3 incorrect, wrong, inaccurate, in error, mistaken, misguided, misled, off the mark: I''m afraid you''re off on the question of the best way to approach him. 4 mad, insane, crazy, eccentric, touched (in the head), Colloq dotty, dippy, nutty, potty: Underwood''s aunt is slightly off. 5 remote, distant, improbable, unlikely: He went to the station on the off chance that she would be on the midday train. 6 off work, at leisure, idle, free, open; on holiday: Can you get the day off tomorrow to go on a picnic with me? 7 sour, mouldy, bad, rotten, rancid, turned, high: The cream smells a bit off. 8 bad, unpropitious, disappointing, unsatisfactory, disheartening, displeasing, slack, slow, substandard, below par, below average, quiet: It has been an off year for the local football team. 9 cancelled, postponed: The meeting is off till next week. 10 situated, fixed, supplied: Is he really that well off? She was much worse off when they were married.
offbeat | offbeat: adj. strange, eccentric, bizarre, weird, peculiar, odd, queer, unconventional, unorthodox, Bohemian, idiosyncratic, unusual, unexpected, outr�, outlandish, deviant, novel, innovative, Colloq kinky, way-out, far-out, off-the-wall, freaky, weirdo: Jasper''s offbeat, satirical humour has made him a popular comedian.
off colour | off colour: adj. 1 unwell, ill, off form, out of sorts, queasy, sick, run down, awful, seedy, Colloq under the weather, poorly, Slang lousy, rotten: I have been feeling off colour since eating that fish. 2 indelicate, risqu�, ribald, bawdy, indecent, suggestive, broad, indelicate, inelegant, improper, inappropriate, unseemly, blue: My mother does not tolerate off-colour remarks at the dinner table.
offence | offence: n. 1 violation, breach, crime, felony, misdemeanour, infraction, transgression, trespass, wrong, wrongdoing, sin, peccadillo, misdeed, fault, infringement, malefaction; dereliction, lapse, slip, error: He was accused of offences against the rights of others. Some regard the splitting of an infinitive an offence against the Queen''s English. 2 give offence. incur displeasure, create annoyance or irritation or resentment or pique, evoke indignation or anger; slight, injure, hurt, harm, offend, insult, outrage, Colloq put (someone) down: He denied that he meant to give offence in his criticism of the play. 3 take offence. take umbrage, feel displeasure or annoyance or resentment or pique or indignation, be angered or enraged: Why should you take offence at what a fool says?
offend | offend: v. 1 hurt (someone''s) feelings, affront, insult, slight, snub, give offence, hurt, pain, displease, disgruntle, chagrin, humiliate, embarrass; pique, fret, gall, vex, annoy, irritate, nettle, needle, rankle, provoke, ruffle, outrage, rile, anger , Colloq miff, put (someone''s) back up, put (someone''s) nose out of joint, tread or step on (someone''s) toes, put (someone) out, rattle: I hope you weren''t offended by my saying that you could do with losing some weight. 2 disgust, sicken, turn (someone''s) stomach, nauseate, repel, repulse, revolt, Colloq turn (someone) off: I, for one, am offended by seeing explicit sex on television.
offender | offender: n. criminal, malefactor, lawbreaker, outlaw, wrongdoer, culprit, miscreant, transgressor, sinner, evil-doer, Slang crook: I don''t know if they apprehended the offender.
offensive | offensive: adj. 1 antagonistic, hostile, contentious, quarrelsome, attacking, aggressive, threatening, provocative, combative, martial, belligerent, warlike, bellicose: The minute the enemy made an offensive move, we attacked. 2 insulting, rude, disrespectful, uncivil, insolent, discourteous, impolite, unmannerly, impertinent, impudent, objectionable, displeasing: Nigel has been asked to leave because of his offensive behaviour. 3 disgusting, unsavoury, unpalatable, nauseating, nauseous, noisome, noxious, obnoxious, repugnant, repulsive, repellent, revolting, abominable, foul, loathsome, vile, sickening, fetid or foetid, rank, malodorous, mephitic, putrid, putrescent, putrefying, rancid, rotten: An offensive stench emanated from the stagnant pond. --n. 4 attack, offence: At last, our team was on the offensive. 5 attack, onslaught, drive, assault, offence, push: The offensive to capture the arsenal will be launched at dawn tomorrow.
offer | offer: v. 1 proffer, propose, tender, bid: They offered twice what I had paid for it. She offered to buy my old car. 2 make available, present, tender, put on the market, sell, put up for sale, put up, furnish: The supermarket is offering lettuce at half price. 3 proffer, provide, submit, put forward or forth, advance, tender, extend, make; suggest: Can you offer a suggestion for improving office efficiency? He offered to forget the whole thing if I paid him �1000. 4 volunteer, present oneself, step or come forward: I offered to help with her luggage. --n. 5 proposal, bid, tender, offering: She said she would double any offer we have already had for the painting. 6 proposal, presentation, proffer, proposition: The company said they could entertain no offers past the deadline. My offer to lend the money was contingent on being repaid.
offering | offering: n. sacrifice, oblation, contribution, donation, gift, present: They made offerings to the gods in order to propitiate them.
offhand | offhand: adj. 1 offhanded, casual, informal, nonchalant, cool, distant, aloof, easygoing, blas�, unceremonious, relaxed, easy, smooth, unconcerned, insouciant, light-hearted, uninterested, superficial, cursory, cavalier, careless: His offhand reaction shows that he doesn''t care as much about her as we thought. 2 curt, brusque, abrupt, perfunctory, ungracious, glib, smooth: When asked when he expected to pay, he gave an offhand reply. 3 extempore, impromptu, unpremeditated, unstudied, extemporaneous, informal, off the cuff, ad lib: She rose to make some offhand comments about the accomplishments of the guest of honour. --adv. 4 extempore, impromptu, extemporaneously, informally, off the cuff, ad lib, on the spur of the moment, at the drop of a hat: That was a pretty good speech considering it was made offhand. 5 casually, informally, incidentally, by the way, offhandedly, by the by, parenthetically, in passing, en passant, cursorily, superficially: Offhand, I''d say that the two of them deserve each other.
office | office: n. 1 business, organization, department, firm, house, establishment, company, corporation: Whenever I''m travelling, I always try to phone the office once a day. 2 commission, department, branch; section, division: He was with the overseas office for years. 3 workplace, offices; room, area: Our new office is completely air-conditioned. My office is next to the board room. 4 duty, obligation, responsibility, charge, commission, service, employment, occupation, position, post, appointment, assignment, chore, task, job, place, berth, work, role, function, purpose, part, bit, Colloq thing, Slang shtick: He was appointed to the office of Minister of Health. In her office as Minister of Finance, she wields great power. 5 offices. indulgence, intermediation, auspices, support, advocacy, aegis, help, aid, intercession, mediation, patronage, favour, backing, backup: She appealed to the police chief''s good offices to allow her to visit her son.
officer | officer: n. 1 (public) official, dignitary, office-holder, public servant, office-bearer, (political) appointee, (government) agent, bureaucrat, functionary, commissioner, administrator, manager, director; apparatchik: He was stopped by customs officers who demanded to search his baggage. The bailiff is an officer of the court. 2 policeman, policewoman, police officer, officer of the law, constable, Old-fashioned catchpole, US lawman, peace officer, G-man, T-Man, Colloq gendarme, Slang cop, copper, fuzz, US dick, narc, Brit Old Bill, tec: The officer standing at the door was there to serve a writ.
official | official: adj. 1 authorized, legitimate, lawful, legal, authentic, bona fide, proper, true, accredited, valid, documented, licensed, sanctioned, endorsed, certified, verified, recognized, accepted: I won''t believe I''ve won till I hold the official notification in my own hands. 2 ceremonial, formal, solemn, ritualistic, ceremonious, pompous, stiff, proper, seemly, decorous: She has to make an acceptance speech at the official dinner. --n. 3 See officer, 1, above.
officiate | officiate: v. preside, direct, manage, chair, conduct, oversee, head (up), run, lead, supervise, superintend; umpire, referee, judge, adjudicate, moderate, mediate: Who will officiate at the annual meeting? Dennis has been invited to officiate at the football match on Saturday.
officious | officious: adj. dictatorial, intrusive, intruding, meddlesome, meddling, obtrusive, forward, bold, interfering, aggressive, insistent, persistent, demanding, importunate: Hamish is one of those officious little men who are always ready to give unasked-for advice.
offset | offset: v. 1 compensate, counterbalance, countervail, counterpoise, counteract, balance (out), equalize, even (out or up), square, cancel (out), neutralize, nullify, make up (for), atone (for), redress; recompense, repay, make amends or restitution, make good, reimburse, indemnify: The votes from the Centre offset those lost to the Far Left. How are you going to offset losses resulting from pilferage by shop assistants? --n. 2 compensation, counterbalance, counteraction, check, equalizer, neutralizer: The bank manager considered the money owed to the company as sufficient offset for the money owed by it.
offshoot | offshoot: n. 1 branch, spur; shoot, limb, bough, twig, stem, appendage, sucker, sprout, sprig, tendril, scion: There is an offshoot of this road that goes up the hill. The offshoots are trained to grow along the arms of the espalier. 2 descendant, relation, relative, kin, kindred, offspring, scion, heir: One offshoot of the family later emigrated to the United States. 3 outgrowth, development, branch, spin-off; by-product, derivative: An offshoot of the company manufactures optical instruments. The sale of gravel for concrete is an offshoot of our mining operations.
offspring | offspring: n. (Often used as plural) child, progeny, issue, seed, youngster, brood, young, successor, heir: None of the earl''s offspring ever amounted to much.
often | often: adv. frequently, regularly, much, many times, usually, habitually, commonly; ordinarily, again and again, over and over again, time after time, repeatedly, time and (time) again, in many cases or instances, on numerous occasions, day in (and) day out, continually, Literary oftentimes, oft: How often do you visit your mother? We often went to the seaside for our summer holiday. She was often warned not to go too near the edge.
