Crossword Genius

Malefactor hurting our feelings? (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

offender

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'malefactor' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'hurting our feelings?' is the wordplay.
I cannot really see how this works, but
'feelings?' could be 'offend' (I have seen 'hurt feelings' mean 'offend' so perhaps 'feelings' could also mean 'offend') and 'offend' is present in the answer.
The remaining letters 'er' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for offender that I've seen before include "Delinquent" , "Wrongdoer" , "miscreant" , "Law breaker" , "guilty party" .)

I've seen this clue in The Globe and Mail.
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