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

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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 But the forces being deployed are light infantry, units that lack the large armored vehicles, including tanks, that typically underpin sustained ground offensives. —

Chris Boccia, ABC News, 27 Mar. 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 Russian forces are intensifying offensives in Donetsk, expanding long-range strikes on cities and energy infrastructure, and pressing for territorial concessions. —

Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives

Noun

While all three attacks are being treated as separate incidents, counterterror police are conducting the investigations due to the nature of the attacks, their locations and the types of buildings involved, the Met said.

— ABC News, ABC News, 17 Apr. 2026
Hundreds have been arrested in countries across the Gulf region, according to the United Nations’ high commissioner for human rights, some on allegations of expressing sympathies for Iran’s attacks and for posting images of Iranian bombardments to social media.

— Jane Lytvynenko, NBC news, 17 Apr. 2026