I used to say I can’t be offended. When would try and choose their words with me, I would reassure them they couldn’t offend me.

To be offended, to me, meant you were bothered by meaningless or careless words someone around you said. It was a sign of weakness. Thin skin.

Then one day I looked it up. Turns out it means to feel upset, annoyed, or resentful.

I guess I’m really offended all the time. And it’s usually because of all the people I see or read about who go out of their way to be offended by something trivial someone says.

We need a word that acts as kind of a counter to “offended.” It would act like a partner to offended.

Offended could settle in to mean when someone is intentionally upset about something someone said, while the other word could represent when one has a good reason to be annoyed, like when you read about people who spend their time looking to be offended.

I checked Thesaurus, but I can’t really find anything that works. I think “offended” works for people who are seeking it, but I’m just not sure about it’s partner word.

Until I figure it out, I’m going with “irritated.”