offensive

• offencive (obsolete)

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

• IPA^(key): /əˈfɛnsɪv/

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

offensive (comparative more offensive, superlative most offensive)

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

   Some people find pornography offensive.

   An offensive smell.

   Antonym: inoffensive

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.

   Antonym: defensive

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

   The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

• 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.

• aggressive
• invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

• offend
• offense

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 27980103, 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.

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

offensive

1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

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

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First attested 1417; formed from offense, from Latin offensare, present active infinitive of offenso (“I strike against”).

offensive f (plural offensives)

1. (military) offensive (an attack)

• offensive terrestre

• → German: Offensive

See the etymology of the corresponding lemma form.

offensive

1. feminine singular of offensif

• “offensive”, in Trésor de la langue française informatisé [Digitized Treasury of the French Language], 2012.

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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

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

offensive

1. feminine plural of offensivo

offensive f

1. plural of offensiva

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

offensive

1. absolute definite natural masculine singular of offensiv.