英语短语 "be offensive to" 的核心含义是“对……构成冒犯;让……感到不快/反感”,用于描述某事物、行为或言论伤害了他人的感情或违反了社交/道德底线。以下是详细解析:
offensive(形容词):意为“冒犯的、无礼的、伤害感情的”(causing someone to feel upset, insulted, or angry);
to(介词):引出被冒犯的对象(人、群体或抽象观念)。
即:Sth. / Doing sth. + be offensive to + sb. / sth.
主语:通常是具体事物(如言论、笑话、图片)、行为(如嘲笑、模仿)或抽象概念(如政策、态度);
宾语:可以是人(如 women、the elderly)、群体(如 religious people、the disabled),或抽象的“情感/观念”(如 decency 体面、cultural values 文化价值观)。
言论/话语:
His jokes about obesity were offensive to people with weight issues.
(他关于肥胖的笑话对有体重问题的人是冒犯的。)
行为:
Making fun of someone's disability is highly offensive to the disabled community.
(嘲笑他人的残疾对残障群体极具冒犯性。)
事物:
The magazine cover was offensive to many parents because of its explicit content.
(这本杂志的封面因为内容露骨,让很多家长感到反感。)
抽象概念:
The company's decision to cut benefits is offensive to the idea of fairness.
(公司削减福利的决定违反了公平原则,令人反感。)
反义词:be inoffensive to(对……无冒犯;不伤人的),如:
Her neutral comment was inoffensive to both sides.(她的中立评论对双方都没有冒犯。)
近义词:
be insulting to(对……侮辱性的,更直接);
be hurtful to(伤害……的感情,更侧重“情感伤害”)。
“be offensive to” 是表达“某事物冒犯某人/群体”的常用短语,核心是“行为/事物→冒犯→对象”的逻辑。使用时需明确“冒犯的主体”和“被冒犯的对象”,避免混淆。