# offensive

Pronunciation: say "uh-FEN-siv" /ˈɔˌfɛnsɪv/

## Adjective

1. Causing offense by provoking disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation in those who encounter it.
   - Simple: Likely to upset, anger, or disgust people.
   - _The cartoon was pulled after readers complained it was deeply offensive._
   - _Several employees reported the manager's offensive comments to human resources._
2. Relating to attacking or carrying out an attack, rather than to defending.
   - Simple: Used for attacking rather than for defending or protecting.
   - _The general drew up an offensive plan to push the front forward._
   - _An offensive maneuver of that scale required surprise and overwhelming force._
4. Relating to the play of a team or player working to advance and score, rather than to defend.
   - Simple: Used for the part of a game where a team tries to score.
   - _The coach praised the team's offensive line for opening up scoring chances._
   - _Her offensive skills made her the league's top scorer this season._

## Noun

3. An attack, especially a coordinated military campaign mounted against an opponent.
   - Simple: A planned military attack made against an enemy.
   - _The spring offensive aimed to break through the northern front._
   - _Commanders launched a major offensive across the river before dawn._
5. A stance or position of attacking, or of being ready to attack.
   - Simple: A position in which someone is attacking or ready to attack.
   - _The general decided to take the offensive before reinforcements arrived._
   - _Once on the offensive, the candidate attacked every rival policy in turn._

## Origin

From Middle French offensif, formed from offendre plus the ending -if by analogy with défensif. Offendre comes from Latin offendere, meaning "to offend."

Source: DictionaryAI, https://dictionaryai.com/define/offensive (written from Wiktionary data, CC BY-SA 4.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).