Derogatory and Offensive

Derogatory

Derogatory adjective - Intended to make a person or thing seem of little importance or value.

Offensive is a synonym for derogatory in insulting topic. In some cases you can use "Offensive" instead an adjective "Derogatory", when it comes to topics like disparaging.

Offensive

Offensive adjective - Causing intense displeasure, disgust, or resentment.

Derogatory is a synonym for offensive in insulting topic. You can use "Derogatory" instead an adjective "Offensive".

Nearby Words: offend, offence, offensively

Both words in one sentence

  • Innocent Bigot Randal had a Racist Grandma but didn't know it, so he uses slightly obscure derogatory terms for various ethnic groups without realizing they're offensive.
  • Up to Eleven: the "Derek and Clive" sketches, which were outrageously extreme and even for their day, racially offensive, derogatory to women, and often extremely homophobic.
  • The original UK release of Mario Party 8 had the word "spastic" in it (a word considered offensive in the UK because it's used as a derogatory term for someone who has epilepsy).
Cite this Source
Offensive and Derogatory. (2016). Retrieved 2026, August 16, from https://thesaurus.plus/related/derogatory/offensive
Derogatory & Offensive. N.p., 2016. Web. 16 Aug. 2026. <https://thesaurus.plus/related/derogatory/offensive>.
Offensive or Derogatory. 2016. Accessed August 16, 2026. https://thesaurus.plus/related/derogatory/offensive.
Google Ngram Viewer shows how "derogatory" and "offensive" have occurred on timeline