offensive

See also: Offensive

Contents

EnglishEdit

Alternative formsEdit

• offencive (obsolete)

EtymologyEdit

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

PronunciationEdit

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɛnsɪv/

• Audio (US)

  (file)

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

AdjectiveEdit

offensive (comparative more offensive, superlative most offensive)

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

   Some people find pornography offensive.

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

   The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

Usage notesEdit

• 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 of a conflict or the team in a sport who possesses the ball.

SynonymsEdit

• aggressive
• invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

AntonymsEdit

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

Derived termsEdit

• offensiveness

Related termsEdit

• offend

TranslationsEdit

causing offense

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Belarusian: абра́злівы m (abrázlivy)
• Bulgarian: оскърбителен (bg) (oskǎrbítelen), обиден (bg) (obíden)
• Catalan: ofensiu m, ofensiva 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: please add this translation if you can
• Finnish: hyökkäävä (fi), päällekäyvä, loukkaava (hurtful)
• French: offensant (fr)
• Galician: ofensivo m
• Georgian: please add this translation if you can
• German: beleidigend (de)
• Greek: προσβλητικός (el) (prosvlitikós)
• Ido: ofensanta (io), ofensiva (io), ofensema (io), desagreabla (io)
• Indonesian: menyinggung (id), tidak sopan
• Japanese: 攻撃的な (kōgekiteki na), 気に障る (ja) (ki ni sawaru)
• Khmer: please add this translation if you can

• 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
• Polish: obraźliwy (pl) m
• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt) m, ofensiva (pt) f
• Romanian: ofensant (ro) m, 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

• Danish: offensiv
• Greek: επιθετικός (el) (epithetikós)
• Occitan: ofensiu

• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt)
• Spanish: ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: offensiv (sv)

team sports: having to do with play directed at scoring

• 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
• German: offensiv (de)

• Italian: offensivo (it)
• Japanese: 攻撃側の (kōgekigawa no)
• Occitan: ofensiu
• Portuguese: ofensivo (pt)
• Russian: наступа́тельный (ru) (nastupátelʹnyj)
• Spanish: ofensivo (es), ofensiva (es) f
• Swedish: offensiv (sv)

NounEdit

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.

TranslationsEdit

an attack

• Armenian: գրոհ (hy) (groh)
• Belarusian: на́ступ m (nástup), ата́ка f (atáka)
• 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
• Finnish: hyökkäys (fi), offensiivi (fi)
• French: offensive (fr) f
• German: Offensive (de) f
• Igbo: offensive

• Japanese: 攻撃 (ja) (こうげき, kōgeki), 攻勢 (こうせい, kōsei)
• Korean: 공세 (ko) (gongse)
• 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: hyökkäyskanta: pysyä hyökkäyskannalla (stay on the offensive)
• French: offensive (fr) f
• Italian: offensiva (it) f

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

Further readingEdit

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

---

DanishEdit

AdjectiveEdit

offensive

1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

---

FrenchEdit

AdjectiveEdit

offensive

1. feminine singular of offensif

NounEdit

offensive f (plural offensives)

1. An offensive (military attack).

Further readingEdit

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

---

GermanEdit

AdjectiveEdit

offensive

1. inflected form of offensiv

---

ItalianEdit

AdjectiveEdit

offensive f

1. feminine plural of offensivo

NounEdit

offensive f

1. plural of offensiva