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 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 Israel’s ongoing offensives have become a wedge issue for Jewish and non-Jewish Americans, leading to protests and raising antisemitism fears and questions about America’s close ties to Israel. — David Crary, Los Angeles Times, 8 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 Since the army broke the siege on el-Obeid last year, the RSF has launched multiple offensives in attempts to reestablish the siege from several directions. — ABC News, 24 June 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 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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives
  1. attacks
  2. raids
  3. assaults
  4. offenses
  5. onslaughts
  6. aggressions
  7. attempts
  8. strikes
Noun
  • Other foreign visitors have, however, been targeted in criminal attacks on Mexico's Pacific coast.
    — CBS News, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
  • Even as crime in general has declined, the NYPD has reported a 16% increase in hate crimes so far this year, with Jews being the victims in more than half the attacks, officials said.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of attacks
Noun
  • During last year’s raids on homes owned by Kadgien and her sister in Mar del Plata, Argentine police also seized two 19th-century paintings, along with other prints and engravings.
    — Sergio Farella, Los Angeles Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • Ask South Florida and Iowa State fans for their feelings on the roster raids Alex Golesh and Matt Campbell did at Auburn and Penn State.
    — Matt Baker, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of raids
Noun
  • The city has reported one of its safest summers on record, though felony assaults in transit and hate crimes have both seen increases, by 9% and 15% respectively, according to NYPD stats.
    — Rebecca White, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Twice this year, Uber was found liable for driver assaults of passengers.
    — Idaho Statesman, Idaho Statesman, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of assaults
Noun
  • Jacobs, 28, was arrested May 26 by the Hobart/Lawrence Police Department on suspicion of five offenses related to domestic abuse and released the next day.
    — Devon Henderson, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
  • The charges included conspiracy against the internal and external security of the state, forming or joining a terrorist organization and offenses related to attempts to change the form of the state.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of offenses
Noun
  • 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
  • Ukraine has been largely helpless in similar Russian onslaughts in recent weeks.
    — Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 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
  • On Thursday, the Southeastern Conference sued Kiffin and LSU in federal court over his attempts to add players (Wright and Zxavian Harris) who spent the summer practicing with NFL teams, while a Baton Rouge judge ruled in favor of the players.
    — Matt Baker, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
  • Their messages suggested coordination rather than isolated attempts to complete individual objectives.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of attempts
Noun
  • Front-line health workers in eastern Congo have gone on multiple strikes to demand pay for their work, complicating efforts to stop the outbreak.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 7 Sep. 2026
  • Two strikes hit the village of Kfar Rumman, according to Lebanon’s Health Ministry.
    — Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 7 Sep. 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 10 Sep. 2026.

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