(Translated by https://www.hiragana.jp/)
offensive - Wiktionary, the free dictionary
See also: Offensive

English

edit
 
English Wikipedia has an article on:
Wikipedia

Alternative forms

edit

Etymology

edit

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

Pronunciation

edit
  • IPA(key): /əˈfɛnsɪv/
  • Audio (US):(file)
  • (sports): (US) IPA(key): /ˈɔˌfɛnsɪv/

Adjective

edit

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[1]:
      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

edit

Derived terms

edit
edit

Collocations

edit

Translations

edit

Noun

edit

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[2], 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

edit

Translations

edit
The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Further reading

edit

Danish

edit

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

French

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Etymology 1

edit

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

Noun

edit

offensive f (plural offensives)

  1. (military) offensive (an attack)
Derived terms
edit
Descendants
edit
  • German: Offensive

Etymology 2

edit

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. feminine singular of offensif

Further reading

edit

German

edit

Pronunciation

edit

Adjective

edit

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

edit

Pronunciation

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

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. feminine plural of offensivo

Noun

edit

offensive f

  1. plural of offensiva

Norwegian Bokmål

edit

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

edit

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

Swedish

edit

Adjective

edit

offensive

  1. definite natural masculine singular of offensiv