offensive

English

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offensive

Wikipedia

Alternative forms

• offencive (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French offensif, from offendre + -if by analogy with défensif. Offendre is from Latin offendere (“to offend”); see offend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɛnsɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

• (sports): (US) IPA^(key): /ˈɔˌfɛnsɪv/

Adjective

offensive (comparative more offensive, superlative most offensive)

1. Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation.

   Antonym: inoffensive

   Some people find pornography offensive.

   An offensive smell.

   • 2016 September 12, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Political Incorrectness Is Just a Strategy”, in Time‎:

     A survey at Yale University had 63% of students wanting professors to issue “trigger warnings” before saying anything that some might find offensive or could cause painful emotions.

2. Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.

   Antonym: defensive

   The army's offensive capabilities. An offensive weapon.

   • 2013 June 7, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6:

     In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.

3. (sports) Having to do with play directed at scoring.

   The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

Synonyms

• aggressive
• invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

Derived terms

Related terms

• offend
• offense

Collocations

Translations

Noun

offensive (countable and uncountable, plural offensives)

1. (countable, military) An attack.

   The Marines today launched a major offensive.

   • 1939 January, Lin Yu, “The "China Incident"”, in Philippine Magazine‎, volume XXXVI, number 1, →OCLC, page 121:

     In Central Hupeh, the Japanese launched another offensive from the Kingshan region, but instead of moving southwestward to cooperate with another column of theirs to capture Shasi, this column swerved to the northwest and succeeded in capturing Chunghsiang on the Han River.

2. (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.

   He took the offensive in the press, accusing his opponent of corruption.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

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

Danish

Adjective

offensive

1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ɔ.fɑ̃.siv/
• Homophone: offensives

• Audio

  (file)

Etymology 1

First attested 1417; formed from offense, from Latin offēnsare (“to strike against”).

Noun

offensive f (plural offensives)

1. (military) offensive (an attack)

Derived terms

• offensive terrestre

Descendants

• → German: Offensive

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

offensive

1. feminine singular of offensif

Further reading

• “offensive”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé , 2012.

German

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

offensive

1. inflection of offensiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /of.fenˈsi.ve/
• Rhymes: -ive
• Hyphenation: of‧fen‧sì‧ve

Adjective

offensive

1. feminine plural of offensivo

Noun

offensive f

1. plural of offensiva

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

Swedish

Adjective

offensive

1. definite natural masculine singular of offensiv