as in invader
one that starts armed conflict against another especially without reasonable cause
a group of smaller states had formed an alliance to deter potential aggressors
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Recent Examples of aggressor
However, the doctrine does not apply if the person asserting self-defense was the initial aggressor.
—
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in remarks at a NATO gathering this week, also ramped up rhetoric against Russia, notably calling Moscow the aggressor.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2025
That unit was the aggressor and the most dominant position group on the field.
—Antonio Morales, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aggressor
Jasmine Laws, MSNBC Newsweek, 20 Oct. 2025
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, in remarks at a NATO gathering this week, also ramped up rhetoric against Russia, notably calling Moscow the aggressor.
—Alexandra Hutzler, ABC News, 17 Oct. 2025
That unit was the aggressor and the most dominant position group on the field.
—Antonio Morales, New York Times, 12 Oct. 2025
Drones allow aggressors to target critical infrastructure that cripples a defender’s economy at low cost and with high accuracy.
—Omar Al-Ubaydli, semafor.com, 8 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for aggressor
Recent Examples of Synonyms for aggressor
Noun
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Its campaign calling for the protection of American culture from invaders has raised eyebrows, and prompted accusations by the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hatewatch Project, of promoting a White, Christian nationalist agenda.—
NPR,
NPR,
29 Oct. 2025
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Teddy demands that Michelle take him and Don to her Andromedan leader in the hope of forcing the invaders to retreat.—
Justin Chang,
New Yorker,
24 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Its namesake, cattleman Oliver Loving, was shot by a band of raiders during a cattle drive in 1866, and died of shock a few days later after a doctor didn’t amputate his gangrenous arm.—
Mitch Moxley,
Rolling Stone,
27 Sep. 2025
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All of them have been broken into by raiders over the centuries, their walls smashed or lids prised off despite once being locked shut with metal clasps.—
Barry Neild,
CNN Money,
23 Sep. 2025
Noun
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These programs harvest passwords, browser data and other sensitive information, sending it back to the attacker's command and control servers.—
Kurt Knutsson,
FOXNews.com,
3 Nov. 2025
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There is no evidence of an attacker at the University of Virginia after a gunman was reported near a library on campus, according to an emergency alert from campus police.—
N'dea Yancey-Bragg,
USA Today,
3 Nov. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Aggressor.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/aggressor. Accessed 9 Nov. 2025.
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