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I wonder, is there an offensive English word (or phrase) for people who offend others? I mean a word that translates literally as "a guy who offends people" and can not be applied to other circumstances, and anyone would see more than this simple meaning in it and would not like to hear it about himself or herself.

There is no such thing in my language, so I can not use translators here unfortunately.

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    @ColleenV, I am looking for a vulgar (not polite) word to make a person, who offended me (or anyone else in front of me) uncomfortable.
    – klm123
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:05
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    @Jasper, I think this is the first one. People who make others feel uncomfortable and achieve this using words.
    – klm123
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:07
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    Aren't you asking use to give you the term to describe the type of person that would would become if you used it? "A person that offends someone?" In my opinion, you should focus on describing the offensive actions and not the person. Most of the time just pointing out the bad behavior publicly will make them uncomfortable and you won't have to be vulgar.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:22
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    Hmmm, OK, but I think the type of answer you're looking for would be flagged for moderator attention. You might try the "urban dictionary" site. There are many truly offensive names to call people there.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:40
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    @ColleenV: Questions and answers about (and therefore using) offensive language are considered appropriate for English.SE (they even have a tag offensive-language), so why not here?
    – Nate Eldredge
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 1:56

4 Answers 4

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A "harasser" is someone "who makes others feel uncomfortable [by] using words", gestures, and touch.

A "stalker" is someone "who makes others feel uncomfortable" by persistently trying to interact with them, either by using information they thought was private, and/or after they had told the stalker to have no further contact with them.

As Arrowfar suggested, "lowlife" is an offensive term for a poor person who might have criminal intentions.

"Crook" is a mildly offensive term for a criminal. For example, when Richard Nixon said, "I am not a crook", it immediately made many people think he was a "lowlife" and unworthy of being President.

"Mugger" is a factual (but still insulting) term for a criminal who robs people on the street or in alleys by force (or threat of force).

"Thug" is an offensive term for an intimidating, possibly criminal, person. Many bodyguards and muggers are called thugs.

"Rapist" and "child molester" are factual terms for people who commit particular crimes. Because these crimes are so abhorrent (especially to many imprisoned criminals), they are very insulting terms. (Many criminals consider it honorable to harm or kill rapists and child molesters.)

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  • I see you use word criminal in a lot of definitions. Does lowlife, for example, describe a noncriminal person, who just say offensive words to others, like teenagers do?
    – klm123
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:35
  • @kim123 -- Are you trying to "pick a fight"? If you use "fighting words", you need to know what kind of fight you are getting into, and against how many people. You also need to know what quite a few "vulgar" and "cuss words" mean. Some can be taken more than one way. For example, "punk" can refer to a teenager that likes loud, disreputable music (such as "heavy metal") -- or it can refer to a weakling who is repeatedly raped in prison.
    – Jasper
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:42
  • A lot of these definitions use "criminal" because I thought you might want a synonym for "offender" -- "a person who commits offenses against others".
    – Jasper
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:47
  • "Lowlife" implies that the person might be criminal, but it has plausible deniability. You can pretend that you did not mean to imply that a "lowlife" is a criminal. But that pretense would seem cowardly -- which is not the effect you are after.
    – Jasper
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 19:50
  • It's also worth noting that "thug" has recently picked up racial connotations in many areas.
    – Jacobm001
    Commented Jun 1, 2015 at 1:58
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In American English, the concept you are trying to communicate is usually implied through context. "Asshole" and "Jackass" both imply someone who is unpleasant to be around. "Prick", "Dick", and "Tool" are all ways of saying someone is aggressively unpleasant to those around them.

"Don't be a dick" is a good way to tell people to knock it off when they are being offensive.

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  • It's worth noting, those all are primarily used when you're talking to a male. If you want to offend a woman, there are much better words to use.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 22:21
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    I would stick with the gender-neutral "asshole" if addressing a woman. Most of the female-specific words have pretty strong misogynistic connotations, and it makes it confusing if you are angry at them for acting like a fool or just for being a woman.
    – J.Random
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 22:31
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    Well, if the goal is to be "on their level", I don't think you've gone far enough. "Don't be a dick." isn't going to make most folks uncomfortable. It would probably be answered with "Whatever dude." I still don't think this is a question that can be answered well here.
    – ColleenV
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 0:04
  • All the offensive words used here denote a person who is jerk, stupid, ridiculous and not particularly defining a person who offends others.
    – Maulik V
    Commented Oct 31, 2014 at 5:51
  • @MaulikV I disagree. All of those words are used to describe someone who is aggravating in some way. This is the closest match to what the OP was asking for; much better than the accepted answer.
    – eelero
    Commented Aug 4, 2016 at 13:42
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The slang term for someone who deliberately tries to provoke confrontation by being rude, and doing so just for sake of their jollies is troll.

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You might be looking for the words: transgressor, offender, wrongdoer, or culprit.

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  • +1. The meaning is correct, but are they really offensive? I do not see that dictionary marks them offensive or at least informal, like nigger, nerd, noob.
    – klm123
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 17:32
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    @klm123 Well, if you want 'offensive' then try 'lowlife'.
    – user6200
    Commented Oct 30, 2014 at 17:37

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