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offensive

of·fen·sive
O o

Transcription

    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • UK Pronunciation
    • UK IPA
    • [uh-fen-siv or for 4, 5, aw-fen-, of-en-]
    • /əˈfɛn sɪv or for 4, 5, ˈɔ fɛn-, ˈɒf ɛn-/
    • /əˈfensɪv/
    • US Pronunciation
    • US IPA
    • [uh-fen-siv or for 4, 5, aw-fen-, of-en-]
    • /əˈfɛn sɪv or for 4, 5, ˈɔ fɛn-, ˈɒf ɛn-/

Definitions of offensive word

  • adjective offensive causing resentful displeasure; highly irritating, angering, or annoying: offensive television commercials. 1
  • adjective offensive unpleasant or disagreeable to the sense: an offensive odor. 1
  • adjective offensive repugnant to the moral sense, good taste, or the like; insulting: an offensive remark; an offensive joke. 1
  • adjective offensive pertaining to offense or attack: the offensive movements of their troops. 1
  • adjective offensive characterized by attack; aggressive: offensive warfare. 1
  • noun offensive the position or attitude of aggression or attack: to take the offensive. 1

Information block about the term

Origin of offensive

First appearance:

before 1540
One of the 30% oldest English words
1540-50; < Medieval Latin offēnsīvus, equivalent to Latin offēns(us) past participle of offendere (see offend) + -īvus -ive

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Offensive

noun
adjective
verb
adverb
pronoun
preposition
conjunction
determiner
exclamation

offensive popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.
Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

offensive usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for offensive

noun offensive

  • assault — An assault by an army is a strong attack made on an area held by the enemy.
  • attack — To attack a person or place means to try to hurt or damage them using physical violence.
  • onslaught — an onset, assault, or attack, especially a vigorous one.
  • incursion — a hostile entrance into or invasion of a place or territory, especially a sudden one; raid: The bandits made brief incursions on the village.
  • storming — a disturbance of the normal condition of the atmosphere, manifesting itself by winds of unusual force or direction, often accompanied by rain, snow, hail, thunder, and lightning, or flying sand or dust.

adverb offensive

  • beastly — If you describe something as beastly, you mean that it is very unpleasant.

adjective offensive

  • unpleasant — not pleasant; displeasing; disagreeable; offensive: an unpleasant taste; an unpleasant situation; an unpleasant manner.
  • nasty — physically filthy; disgustingly unclean: a nasty pigsty of a room.
  • distasteful — unpleasant, offensive, or causing dislike: a distasteful chore.
  • disgusting — causing disgust; offensive to the physical, moral, or aesthetic taste.
  • odious — deserving or causing hatred; hateful; detestable.

Antonyms for offensive

noun offensive

  • retreat — the forced or strategic withdrawal of an army or an armed force before an enemy, or the withdrawing of a naval force from action.
  • defending — making a defence
  • defensive — You use defensive to describe things that are intended to protect someone or something.

adjective offensive

  • agreeable — If something is agreeable, it is pleasant and you enjoy it.
  • courteous — Someone who is courteous is polite and respectful to other people.
  • peaceful — characterized by peace; free from war, strife, commotion, violence, or disorder: a peaceful reign; a peaceful demonstration.
  • delightful — If you describe something or someone as delightful, you mean they are very pleasant.
  • good — Graph-Oriented Object Database

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See also

Matching words

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