of·fen·sive
ə-ˈfen(t)-siv 
especially for sense 1
ˈä-ˌfen(t)-
ˈȯ-
1
a
: making attack : aggressive
The bear made offensive movements.
b
: of, relating to, or designed for attack
offensive weapons
c
: of or relating to an attempt to score in a game or contest
offensive maneuvers
also
: of or relating to a team in possession of the ball or puck
offensive linemen
3
: causing displeasure or resentment
offensive remarks
offensively
adverb
offensiveness
noun
Synonyms
Adjective
- abhorrent
- abominable
- appalling
- awful
- disgusting
- distasteful
- dreadful
- evil
- foul
- fulsome
- gross
- hideous
- horrendous
- horrible
- horrid
- loathsome
- nasty
- nauseating
- nauseous
- noisome
- noxious
- obnoxious
- obscene
- odious
- rancid
- repellent
- repellant
- repugnant
- repulsive
- revolting
- scandalous
- shocking
- sickening
- ugly
Noun
Examples of offensive in a Sentence
Adjective
He made some offensive remarks.
An offensive odor was coming from the basement.
Noun
the primary offensive by the ground forces will commence at dawn tomorrow
Recent Examples on the Web
Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
The Sockers will counter with a balanced offensive attack led by Brandon Escoto (29 goals), Tavoy Morgan (26 goals) and Kraig Chiles (24 goals).
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The father of an Uvalde school shooting victim called out Walmart earlier this month for offensive t-shirts, prompting the retail giant to issue an apology.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Irving and Doncic are the top scoring duo in the NBA this season and offer the rare combo of two complete offensive players that can do
Not to be outdone the Clippers have three superstars on their roster James Harden, George and Leonard.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2024
While his early offensive spark should have been a catalyst for the rest of the team, his teammates never ramped up their games.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Adidas also became dangerously reliant on the partnership with Ye, which created a crisis after the celebrity made a series of offensive statements.
—Tim Loh, Fortune Europe, 17 Apr. 2024
Of that, roughly $22 million was offensive weapons, including 3,000 portable antitank weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for machine guns, submachine guns, or other fully automatic or semiautomatic firearms.
—Cate Brown, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
How Caitlin Clark's points total compares to the NCAA's best scorers
Of course, a key element of any basketball player's offensive stat line is their assists, too.
—Caitlin Clark, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Edith M. Lederer, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Tuesday’s action against Project Nimbus comes after the reported death toll from the IDF’s offensive on Hamas in Gaza climbed to more than 34,000 Palestinians.
—Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 18 Apr. 2024
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
—Munir Ahmed, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned again on Monday night that delays in American assistance are deepening the challenges at the front and said the latest information from Ukrainian intelligence suggested that the Kremlin is preparing for some sort of major offensive in late spring or early summer.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
After 2008 [following the release of Food, Inc.] the industry organized a counter offensive.
—Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Sluggish Russian offensives came at a high cost, with an increasing proportion of casualties caused directly or indirectly by drone operators.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Apr. 2024
The Russian investments were followed by a systematic effort to denigrate Patriarch Bartholomew on hundreds of new Greek-language websites, blogs, and Facebook groups, an online offensive documented by Alexandros Massavetas, a Greek journalist, in his 2019 book, The Third Rome.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
In addition to those who were killed in the most recent offensive, in November, during the IDF’s first raid on Al-Shifa, hospital staff members had been forced to bury 179 patients in a mass grave.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
Adjective
In 1999, Castillo was the Philadelphia Eagles’ offensive line coach when Bieniemy got 12 carries as a running back for the team.
—Ben Bolch, Los Angeles Times, 18 Apr. 2024
The Sockers will counter with a balanced offensive attack led by Brandon Escoto (29 goals), Tavoy Morgan (26 goals) and Kraig Chiles (24 goals).
—Ivan Carter, San Diego Union-Tribune, 18 Apr. 2024
The father of an Uvalde school shooting victim called out Walmart earlier this month for offensive t-shirts, prompting the retail giant to issue an apology.
—USA TODAY, 18 Apr. 2024
Irving and Doncic are the top scoring duo in the NBA this season and offer the rare combo of two complete offensive players that can do
Not to be outdone the Clippers have three superstars on their roster James Harden, George and Leonard.
—Lawrence Dow, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 18 Apr. 2024
While his early offensive spark should have been a catalyst for the rest of the team, his teammates never ramped up their games.
—Dieter Kurtenbach, The Mercury News, 17 Apr. 2024
Adidas also became dangerously reliant on the partnership with Ye, which created a crisis after the celebrity made a series of offensive statements.
—Tim Loh, Fortune Europe, 17 Apr. 2024
Of that, roughly $22 million was offensive weapons, including 3,000 portable antitank weapons and 500,000 rounds of ammunition for machine guns, submachine guns, or other fully automatic or semiautomatic firearms.
—Cate Brown, Washington Post, 5 Apr. 2024
How Caitlin Clark's points total compares to the NCAA's best scorers
Of course, a key element of any basketball player's offensive stat line is their assists, too.
—Caitlin Clark, USA TODAY, 5 Apr. 2024
Noun
Israel’s military offensive in response has killed over 32,000 Palestinians, according to Gaza’s health ministry, and destroyed much of the territory, which speaker after speaker denounced Thursday.
—Edith M. Lederer, Fortune, 19 Apr. 2024
Tuesday’s action against Project Nimbus comes after the reported death toll from the IDF’s offensive on Hamas in Gaza climbed to more than 34,000 Palestinians.
—Caroline Haskins, WIRED, 18 Apr. 2024
Israel responded with an offensive in Gaza that has caused widespread devastation and killed over 33,800 people, according to local health officials.
—Munir Ahmed, Quartz, 16 Apr. 2024
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned again on Monday night that delays in American assistance are deepening the challenges at the front and said the latest information from Ukrainian intelligence suggested that the Kremlin is preparing for some sort of major offensive in late spring or early summer.
—Marc Santora, New York Times, 16 Apr. 2024
After 2008 [following the release of Food, Inc.] the industry organized a counter offensive.
—Julian Sancton, The Hollywood Reporter, 10 Apr. 2024
Sluggish Russian offensives came at a high cost, with an increasing proportion of casualties caused directly or indirectly by drone operators.
—IEEE Spectrum, 10 Apr. 2024
The Russian investments were followed by a systematic effort to denigrate Patriarch Bartholomew on hundreds of new Greek-language websites, blogs, and Facebook groups, an online offensive documented by Alexandros Massavetas, a Greek journalist, in his 2019 book, The Third Rome.
—Robert F. Worth, The Atlantic, 10 Apr. 2024
In addition to those who were killed in the most recent offensive, in November, during the IDF’s first raid on Al-Shifa, hospital staff members had been forced to bury 179 patients in a mass grave.
—Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 10 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'offensive.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near offensive
Cite this Entry
“Offensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/offensive. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
offensive
1 of 2 adjective
of·fen·sive
ə-ˈfen(t)-siv
1
a
: relating to or made or suited for attack
offensive weapons
b
: of or relating to the attempt to score in a game or contest
the offensive team
2
: causing painful or unpleasant sensations
an offensive smell
3
: causing displeasure or resentment
an offensive remark
offensively
adverb
offensiveness
noun
offensive
2 of 2 noun1
: the state or attitude of one who is making an attack
on the offensive
Legal Definition
offensive
adjective
of·fen·sive
ə-ˈfen-siv
1
: of, relating to, or designed for attack
offensive weapons
2
: causing displeasure or resentment
especially
: contrary to a particular or prevailing sense of what is decent, proper, or moral
depicted sexual acts in a patently offensive way
see also obscene
offensively
adverb
offensiveness
noun
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