offensives

noun

plural of offensive
as in attacks
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence the primary offensive by the ground forces will commence at dawn tomorrow

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of offensives Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses. — ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026 Only small offensives are possible Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses. — Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026 However, further Houthi offensives have met stiffer resistance from the recuperated forces of the Presidential Leadership Council, depriving the group of another quick victory. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 4 Oct. 2026 With alarm bells ringing over potential Russian offensives — both digital and kinetic — in the coming months, vulnerable European nations must figure out if, and how, to respond. — Rafi Schwartz, TheWeek, 28 Sep. 2026 However, Iran analysts are highly skeptical that Tehran will prove capable of launching any such large-scale ground offensives any time soon. — Paul Iddon, Forbes.com, 27 July 2026 Countries are scrambling not to fall behind in AI — and French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi are leading a personal charm offensives to court tech CEOs. — Kai Nicol-Schwarz,priyanka Salve, CNBC, 4 July 2026 By targeting logistics hubs and resource stockpiles, Ukraine is attacking the systems that sustain Russian offensives. — Aidan Stretch, CBS News, 9 June 2026 The twin offensives are targeting Hamas and Hezbollah respectively, though critics argue that the operations are motivated at least in part by domestic politics — Israel is due to hold elections by October — and are amplifying troubling humanitarian situations in Gaza and Lebanon. — Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 29 May 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives
  1. attacks
  2. raids
  3. assaults
  4. offenses
  5. onslaughts
  6. aggressions
  7. attempts
  8. strikes
Noun
  • Monday's attacks on a shelter and former school with bunker-busting bombs came as people were lined up for aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Russia ramped up its aerial attacks on towns and cities across the country over the summer, striking at all times of the day.
    — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • In December 2024, FBI agents and local police arrested the men during pre-dawn raids on their homes in Miami Beach and their parents’ home in Bal Harbour.
    — Miami Herald, Miami Herald, 28 Oct. 2026
  • The Israeli military launched large-scale domestic military exercises on Sunday to counter surprise border infiltrations and ground raids across northern and central Israel, mobilizing multiple divisions and air assets amid rising regional tensions.
    — Emma Bussey, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026
Definition of raids
Noun
  • Moscow showed no signs of letting up its aerial assaults elsewhere.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Elsewhere, Moscow showed no signs of letting up its aerial assaults.
    — Susie Blann, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
Definition of assaults
Noun
  • The league’s best offenses find ways to get the ball to their best playmakers.
    — Antwan Staley, New York Daily News, 29 Oct. 2026
  • According to the outlet, Scotland Yard said the letter contained several allegations of offenses outside the United Kingdom, but police did not launch an investigation at the time.
    — Stephanie Nolasco , Ashley Papa, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of offenses
Noun
  • Its songs are littered with black holes, disasters, nuclear bombs; there are guttural screams and onslaughts of distorted guitar.
    — Marissa Lorusso, Pitchfork, 28 Oct. 2026
  • In fact, reported evidence suggests this software commitment (from a company making its revenue from hardware) has been crucial to Nvidia’s success in fending off onslaughts from other hardware vendors such as Intel.
    — Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of onslaughts
Noun
  • As quotas for immigration arrests increased that spring, he was asked to press felony charges for even minor aggressions against agents.
    — Emily Witt, New Yorker, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The United States deploys about 28,500 troops in South Korea as deterrence against potential aggressions from North Korea.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 6 Aug. 2026
Definition of aggressions
Noun
  • If multiple attempts to form a government fail, Israel faces a new election early next year.
    — CARA ANNA, Arkansas Online, 31 Oct. 2026
  • The new Lucas Museum of Narrative Art opened at the end of September in South Los Angeles, after a more than eight-year construction process and failed attempts by the Star Wars creator who funded it to site it in Chicago or San Francisco.
    — Nicholas Clairmont, The Washington Examiner, 31 Oct. 2026
Definition of attempts
Noun
  • Experts said some of the tension – particularly on issues related to diesel, with Trump blaming Ukrainian strikes on Russian oil refineries for soaring prices rather than the Iran war – may dissipate after the US midterms.
    — Lauren Kent, CNN Money, 24 Oct. 2026
  • DeShields was 18-of-33 passing for 294 yards and threw scoring strikes of 1, 55 and 19 yards to Harris.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of strikes

Browse Nearby Words

offensiveness
offensives
offer
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Cite this Entry

“Offensives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensives. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

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