aggression

English

Etymology

From Middle French aggression, from Latin aggressio, from aggressus, past participle of aggredior (“to approach, address, attack”).

Pronunciation

• (US) IPA^(key): /əˈɡɹɛʃən/

• Audio (Southern England)

  (file)

Noun

aggression (countable and uncountable, plural aggressions)

1. The act of initiating hostilities or invasion.
   • 2019 April 28, Hagai El-Ad, “What kind of democracy deports human rights workers?”, in Yoni Molad, transl., +972 Magazine‎:

     Control, dispossession, violence, and tyranny are not “defensive”: they are part of an organized, ongoing aggression.

2. The practice or habit of launching attacks.
3. Hostile or destructive behavior or actions.
   • 2018, Michael Cottakis – LSE, “Colliding worlds: Donald Trump and the European Union”, in LSE's blog‎:

     The decision to impose a steel and aluminum tariff is an act of aggression which makes trade war between the two pillars of the West a grim possibility.

Antonyms

• nonaggression

Derived terms

Related terms

• aggress
• aggressive
• aggressiveness
• aggressor

Translations

Further reading

• aggression on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
• “aggression”, in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: G. & C. Merriam, 1913, →OCLC.
• “aggression”, in The Century Dictionary , New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911, →OCLC.

Danish

Noun

aggression c (singular definite aggressionen, plural indefinite aggressioner)

1. aggression

Declension

Further reading

• “aggression” in Den Danske Ordbog

Finnish

Noun

aggression

1. genitive singular of aggressio