offensive

See also: Offensive

English

Alternative forms

• offencive (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French offensif, from Medieval Latin offensivus, from Latin offendere (“to offend”), past participle offensus; 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, or hatred.

   Some people find pornography offensive.

   An offensive smell.

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

   The army's offensive capabilities. An offensive weapon.

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

   The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

Usage notes

• Nouns to which "offensive" is often applied: content, material, language, word, comment, remark, statement, speech, joke, humor, image, picture, art, behavior, conduct, act, action.
• When the second syllable is emphasized, "offensive" is defined as "insulting". When the first syllable is emphasized, it refers to the attacker in a conflict or a sport.

Synonyms

• aggressive
• invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

Antonyms

• inoffensive (not causing offense or disgust)
• defensive (relating or causing defence)

Derived terms

• offensiveness

Related terms

• offend

Translations

causing offense

• Armenian: վիրավորական (hy) (viravorakan)
• Belarusian: абра́злівы m (abrázlivy)
• Bulgarian: оскърби́телен (bg) (oskǎrbítelen), оби́ден (bg) (obíden)
• Catalan: ofensiu (ca) m, ofensiva (ca) f
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 有攻擊性 (zh), 有攻击性 (zh) (yoǔgōngjīxìng), 冒犯的 (zh) (màofàn de)

• Czech: urážlivý (cs) m
• Danish: stødende, anstødelig
• Dutch: weerzinwekkend (nl), walgelijk (nl), beledigend (nl)
• Esperanto: ofenda
• Finnish: hyökkäävä (fi), päällekäyvä, loukkaava (fi) (hurtful)
• French: offensant (fr)
• Galician: ofensivo m, ofensiva f
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: beleidigend (de)
• Greek: προσβλητικός (el) (prosvlitikós)
• Hungarian: sértő (hu), bántó (hu), goromba (hu), durva (hu)
• Ido: ofensanta (io), ofensiva (io), ofensema (io), desagreabla (io)
• Indonesian: menyinggung (id), tidak sopan
• Japanese: 攻撃的な (ja) (kōgekiteki na), 気に障る (ja) (ki ni sawaru), 侮辱的な (ja) (ぶじょくてきな, bujokuteki na)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can

• Latin: taeter, offensus, repudiōsus
• Macedonian: навредлив (navredliv)
• Maori: weriweri, hākiki, mataharehare, koeo (of an odour), pūraurau (of speech), taratara, harehare (by saying things), penopeno (of odour), harehare
• Mongolian: please add this translation if you can
• Occitan: ofensant
• Plautdietsch: prost
• Polish: obraźliwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt) m, ofensiva (pt) f
• Romanian: ofensant (ro) m or n, ofensantă f
• Russian: оскорби́тельный (ru) (oskorbítelʹnyj), оби́дный (ru) (obídnyj)
• Scottish Gaelic: oilbheumach
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: уврѐдљив

  Roman: uvrèdljiv (sh)

• Slovene: please add this translation if you can
• Spanish: ofensivo (es) m, ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: stötande (sv), anstötlig (sv)
• Thai: please add this translation if you can
• Turkish: please add this translation if you can
• Ukrainian: обра́зливий m (obrázlyvyj)
• Vietnamese: please add this translation if you can

relating to attack, offense

• Belarusian: наступа́льны (nastupálʹny)
• Bulgarian: нападателен (bg) (napadatelen)
• Danish: offensiv
• Esperanto: ofensiva (eo)
• French: offensif (fr)
• Galician: ofensivo m
• Greek: επιθετικός (el) (epithetikós)
• Hungarian: támadó (hu)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: offensiv

  Nynorsk: offensiv

• Occitan: ofensiu
• Polish: ofensywny
• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt)
• Russian: наступа́тельный (ru) (nastupátelʹnyj)
• Spanish: ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: offensiv (sv)
• Ukrainian: наступа́льний (nastupálʹnyj)

team sports: having to do with play directed at scoring

• Bulgarian: нападателен (bg) (napadatelen)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 進攻性的, 进攻性的 (jìngōngxìng de)

• Danish: offensiv
• Dutch: aanvallend (nl), offensief (nl)
• Finnish: hyökkäävä (fi), hyökkäys-
• French: offensif (fr) m, offensive (fr) f
• Galician: ofensivo m
• German: offensiv (de)
• Italian: offensivo (it)
• Japanese: 攻撃側の (kōgekigawa no)

• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: offensiv

  Nynorsk: offensiv

• Occitan: ofensiu
• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt)
• Russian: наступа́тельный (ru) (nastupátelʹnyj)
• Spanish: ofensivo (es), ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: offensiv (sv)

Noun

offensive (countable and uncountable, plural offensives)

1. (countable, military) An attack.

   The Marines today launched a major offensive.

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

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

Translations

an attack

• Armenian: գրոհ (hy) (groh)
• Azerbaijani: hücum (az)
• Belarusian: на́ступ m (nástup), ата́ка f (atáka)
• Bulgarian: атака (bg) f (ataka), настъпление (bg) n (nastǎplenie)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 進攻 (zh), 进攻 (zh) (jìngōng), 攻勢 (zh), 攻势 (zh) (gōngshì)

• Czech: ofenzíva f, útok (cs) m
• Danish: offensiv c
• Dutch: offensief (nl) n, aanval (nl) m, inval (nl) m
• Esperanto: ofensivo
• Finnish: hyökkäys (fi), offensiivi (fi)
• French: offensive (fr) f
• German: Offensive (de) f, Angriff (de) m
• Hungarian: támadás (hu), offenzíva (hu)
• Igbo: offensive
• Japanese: 攻撃 (ja) (こうげき, kōgeki), 攻勢 (こうせい, kōsei)

• Korean: 공세 (ko) (gongse)
• Norwegian:

  Bokmål: offensiv m

  Nynorsk: offensiv m

• Occitan: ofensiva
• Polish: ofensywa (pl) f, atak (pl) m
• Portuguese: ofensiva (pt) f
• Romanian: ofensivă (ro) f, atac (ro) n
• Russian: наступле́ние (ru) n (nastuplénije), ата́ка (ru) f (atáka)
• Serbo-Croatian: офанзива f, ofanziva (sh) f
• Spanish: ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: offensiv (sv) c
• Ukrainian: на́ступ m (nástup), ата́ка (uk) f (atáka)

posture of attack

• Dutch: klaar om aan te vallen
• Finnish: hyökkäyskannalla (adverb)
• French: offensive (fr) f
• Italian: offensiva (it) f

• Occitan: ofensiva
• Portuguese: ofensiva (pt) f
• Romanian: ofensivă (ro) f

Further reading

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

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Danish

Adjective

offensive

1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

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French

Pronunciation

• Audio

  (file)

Adjective

offensive

1. feminine singular of offensif

Noun

offensive f (plural offensives)

1. An offensive (military attack).

Further reading

• “offensive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

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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

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Italian

Pronunciation

• Rhymes: -ive

Adjective

offensive f

1. feminine plural of offensivo

Noun

offensive f

1. plural of offensiva

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Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

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Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv