OFFENSIVES Synonyms: 59 Similar and Opposite Words

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

Relevance

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 The Oilers won nine series in the last four years and represented the West in unsuccessful offensives against the Florida Panthers in each of the past two Junes. —

Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 1 May 2026 The army has retaken territory from ethnic militias, including the Three Brotherhood Alliance, which had launched powerful offensives along with pro-democracy resistance forces in northeastern Myanmar near the Chinese border and in western Myanmar. —

ABC News, 21 Apr. 2026 Putin is widely expected to launch new offensives as the weather in Ukraine improves, piling further pressure on Kyiv. —

Hanna Arhirova, Los Angeles Times, 20 Mar. 2026 From these footholds, Indonesian special forces organized and launched offensives against Fretilin to force its retreat. —

Agathe Demarolle, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Mar. 2026 Nation-states now pair kinetic strikes with digital offensives. —

Kurt Knutsson, FOXNews.com, 1 Mar. 2026 Dynamic shifts on the battlefield — with large swaths of Ukrainian land changing hands in offensives and counteroffensives in the early years of the war — have since given way to a conflict of inches. —

Joanna Kakissis, NPR, 24 Feb. 2026 The report said Russian forces have advanced at an average rate of between 49 to 230 feet per day in their most prominent offensives. —

Arkansas Online, 29 Jan. 2026 Higher-level Russian headquarters interpret this footage as evidence that territory has been captured and therefore do not order further offensives. —

Vikram Mittal, Forbes.com, 16 Jan. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives

Noun

At the most recent debate, hosted by NBC4 and Telemundo 52 on May 6, the seven candidates again clashed over housing and immigration, while Becerra and Steyer faced fierce attacks from both sides of the political spectrum, The Los Angeles Times reported.

— James Ward, USA Today, 15 May 2026
As the United States has escalated its attacks on Iran, there’s something pleasingly transgressive about bringing Iranian elements into such overtly Western music—so much so that the songs without Yaghmai’s playing seem a little subdued in comparison.

— Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 15 May 2026