Offensive

/əˈfɛnsɪv/ · adjective

Meaning

Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation..

Definitions by Sense

1. Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation.
2. Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
3. (sports) Having to do with play directed at scoring.
4. (countable, military) An attack.
5. (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.

Example Sentences

Some people find pornography offensive.

An offensive smell.

A survey at Yale University had 63% of students wanting professors to issue “trigger warnings” before saying anything that some might find offensive or could cause painful emotions.

Britain’s police are especially zealous. Officers spend thousands of hours sifting through potentially offensive posts and arrest 30 people a day. Among those collared were a man who ranted about immigration on Facebook and a couple who criticised their daughter’s primary school.

The army's offensive capabilities. An offensive weapon.

In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.

The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

The Marines today launched a major offensive.

Synonyms for offensive

Antonyms for offensive

Related Words

Word Forms

• more offensive
• most offensive
• offencive
• offensives

Usage Notes

Choose a synonym only when it preserves the intended meaning, tone, and grammar of the full sentence.

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