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
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Recent Examples of offensives
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
In response, guerrilla groups of liberals and the left emerged, gathering thousands of people in rural areas and launching offensives against the army.
—Roberto Andrés, The Dial, 28 May 2026
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
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
In response, guerrilla groups of liberals and the left emerged, gathering thousands of people in rural areas and launching offensives against the army.
—Roberto Andrés, The Dial, 28 May 2026
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives
Noun
-
The Kerch road and rail crossing, opened by Putin in 2018, has been the target of previous Ukrainian attacks.—
Gianluca Mezzofiore,
CNN Money,
20 June 2026
-
The first is Kryla, a compact cruise missile carrying a 50-kilogram warhead designed for saturation attacks.—
Neetika Walter,
Interesting Engineering,
19 June 2026
Noun
-
Trump’s immigration team vows that more raids are forthcoming.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
19 June 2026
-
Japanese antitrust officials periodically make high-profile raids to protect fair competition, such as one on Google, instructing it to fix its advertising search restrictions allegedly affecting Yahoo in the country.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
17 June 2026
Noun
-
The evolution of unmanned warfare has become so pronounced that Ukrainian forces recently conducted what has been described as one of the first unmanned assaults on a Russian position.—
Hunter LaCroix,
Baltimore Sun,
20 June 2026
-
This ongoing challenge underscores how accomplished women, particularly women of color, still face gendered and racialized assaults that undermine their achievements.—
Sophia A. Nelson,
Forbes.com,
18 June 2026
Noun
-
Scott Sherman, 40, was previously convicted of first-degree murder as well as weapons and drug offenses in the October 3, 2023, shooting of Felix Makinano, 53.—
Richard Ramos,
CBS News,
20 June 2026
-
Kimble pleaded guilty in 2019 to multiple federal offenses, including conspiracy to defraud the United States, healthcare fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, making false claims and offering kickbacks and bribes.—
Michael Sinkewicz,
FOXNews.com,
20 June 2026
Noun
-
Russia appeared to be flexing its military muscle in a show of force with its latest aerial onslaughts on Ukraine.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
13 May 2026
-
Wardley, 31, had never lost in 21 bouts before Saturday, and somehow withstood numerous onslaughts from Dubois (23-3) without ever touching the canvas in a remarkable display of courage.—
Chris McKenna,
New York Times,
9 May 2026
Noun
-
Vitello, meanwhile, just takes it — macro- and micro-aggressions alike.—
Dieter Kurtenbach,
Mercury News,
21 June 2026
-
Athens was a belligerent city-state that fell victim to its own aggressions.—
Alex Ross,
New Yorker,
15 June 2026
Noun
-
As Kennedy and Bessette spend more time together and grow closer, her intimidation of the spotlight and fear of invasive paparazzi often create tension in their relationship, despite his attempts to calm the situation.—
Gerrad Hall,
Entertainment Weekly,
22 June 2026
-
An early furor over accepting valuable gifts, including designer spectacles and Taylor Swift concert tickets, was followed by a series of policy U-turns, especially clumsy attempts to cut welfare spending that stirred anger in Labour ranks.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
22 June 2026
Noun
-
Several of the deaths were attributed to a variety of human activities, such as boat strikes.—
Thao Nguyen,
USA Today,
22 June 2026
-
Israeli troops advanced to its outskirts and didn’t enter, but their strikes pummeled what had been an economic powerhouse of Shiite business affluence.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
22 June 2026
Cite this Entry
“Offensives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensives. Accessed 24 Jun. 2026.
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