offensive
/əˈfɛnsɪv
/adjective
1Causing someone to feel resentful, upset, or annoyed: the allegations made are deeply offensive to us offensive language...
- The film provoked controversy because of its use of offensive language, and was given an 18 rating by film censors.
- There will be people who find the above image highly offensive and insensitive.
- Officials have always been able to send off players who use offensive, abusive or insulting language, but now that definition's been extended to cover gestures too.
Synonyms
insulting, rude, derogatory, disrespectful, hurtful, wounding, abusive, objectionable, displeasing, annoying, exasperating, irritating, vexing, galling, provocative, provoking, humiliating, impertinent, impudent, insolent, personal, discourteous, uncivil, impolite, unmannerly, unacceptable, shocking, scandalous, outrageous;
crude, vulgar, coarse, indecent, improper
rare exceptionable
1.1(Of a sight or smell) disgusting; repulsive: an offensive odour...
- Chimney-sweeps, on the other hand, formed distinct and coherent communities, their filthy appearance and offensive smell forcing them into collective isolation.
- A doctor friend of ours kindly provided a large supply of surgical masks which I wore constantly to mask the imaginary offensive smells emitting from the kitchen.
- In a three-month period, there were 33 disruptive incidents in total, most relating to having an offensive smell or verbal abuse.
Synonyms
unpleasant, disagreeable, nasty, distasteful, displeasing, objectionable, off-putting, uninviting, awful, terrible, dreadful, frightful, obnoxious, abominable, disgusting, repulsive, repellent, repugnant, revolting, abhorrent, loathsome, hateful, detestable, execrable, odious, vile, foul, unsavoury, unpalatable, sickening, nauseating, nauseous, ugly, unsightly;
noxious, fetid, rank, rancid, malodorous, mephitic
informal ghastly, horrible, horrid, gross, putrid, sick-making, yucky, God-awful
British informal beastly
Northern Irish informal bogging
Australian informal on the nose
North American informal skanky
literary noisome
archaic disgustful, loathly
2 [attributive] Actively aggressive; attacking: offensive operations against the insurgents...
- The captain said the unit supported airlift operations and offensive air support operations.
- It will be the hub of all logistics support for combat forces conducting offensive operations in littoral regions.
- They are most proud of the fact that they could quickly shift gears from force protection operations to direct offensive combat without missing a beat.
Synonyms
hostile, attacking, aggressive, invading, incursive, combative, threatening, martial, warlike, belligerent, bellicose, antagonistic, on the attack
2.1(Of a weapon) meant for use in attack: he is also accused of possessing an offensive weapon...
- They do not want other countries in Asia to get any kind of offensive missiles and nuclear weapons.
- They found 13 firearms and 266 offensive weapons.
- Since the galley represented by the model in Plates V and VI, was built in 1736, her dominant offensive weapon was a cannon at her bow.
2.2chiefly North American Relating to the team in possession of the ball or puck in a game: Shell was an outstanding offensive tackle during his 15 years with the Raiders...
- The timeout is given at the first deadball when the team requesting it has offensive possession or on a foul.
- The Mavericks probably are the most potent offensive team in the game but are criticized for their defense.
- The offensive team passes the ball from man to man while the defense adjusts and follows the ball.
noun
1An attacking military campaign: an impending military offensive against the guerrillas...
- This year under considerable pressure from the army, the president gave the go-ahead for a military offensive against separatist guerillas in Aceh.
- Planning offensives, like military campaigns or space probes, are given virile, go-get-'em titles.
- Rebels in the country's oil-rich Niger delta have threatened to attack oil facilities unless the military halts an offensive.
Synonyms
attack, assault, onslaught, drive, invasion, push, thrust, charge, sortie, sally, foray, raid, offence, act of war, act of aggression, incursion, blitz, campaign
1.1An organized and forceful campaign to achieve something, typically a political or social end: the need to launch an offensive against crime...
- In a short period Reebok India has become the market leader; it has even found it necessary to launch an offensive against counterfeiting of its products.
- A social offensive is being waged in every country against the working class, aimed at clawing back the concessions that were made to avert the socialist threat in an earlier period.
- First, governments began an offensive against the social welfare conditions they had been obliged to grant to the working class in an earlier period.
Phrases
be on the offensive
go on (to) the offensive (or take the offensive)
Derivatives
offensiveness
/ noun ...- The next day, one of these emailers responded that he thought my reply was disproportionate to the offensiveness of his email; I agreed and apologized for having reacted inappropriately.
- They shouldn't consider the author's past offensiveness, or the reprehensibleness of the ideas he expresses outside the paper.
- Whether intentional or not, the racial offensiveness and insensitivity of Summers' remarks and actions must be acknowledged, criticized, and vigorously resisted.
Origin
Mid 16th century: from French offensif, -ive or medieval Latin offensivus, from Latin offens- 'struck against', from the verb offendere (see offend).
Rhymes
- glosser
- gloss finish
- glossily
- glossiness
- glossitis
- glossographer
- glossography
- glossolalia
- glossolalic
- glossopharyngeal
- glossopharyngeal nerve
- gloss paint
- glossy
- glossy ibis
- glossy mag
- glossy magazine
- glossy starling
- glost
- glottal
- glottal stop
- glottic
- glottis
- glottochronological
- glottochronology
- Gloucester