Adjacent Words

Offensive definitions

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Webster's 1828 Dictionary

OFFENS'IVE, a.
1. Causing displeasure or some degree of anger; displeasing. All sin is offensive to God. Rude behavior is offensive to men. Good breeding forbids us to use offensive words.
2. Disgusting; giving pain or unpleasant sensations; disagreeable; as an offensive taste or smell; an offensive sight. discordant sounds are offensive to the ears.
3. Injurious.
It is an excellent opener for the liver, but offensive to the stomach.
4. Assailant; used in attack; opposed to defensive; as an offensive weapon or engine.
5. Assailant; invading; making the first attack; opposed to defensive; as an offensive war.
A league offensive and defensive, is one that requires both or all parties to make war together against a nation, and each party to defend the other in case of being attacked.
OFFENS'IVE, n. The part of attacking; as, to act on the offensive.

WordNet (r) 3.0 (2005)

adj
1: violating or tending to violate or offend against; "violative of the principles of liberty"; "considered such depravity offensive against all laws of humanity" [syn: offensive, violative]
2: for the purpose of attack rather than defense; "offensive weapons" [ant: defensive]
3: causing anger or annoyance; "offensive remarks" [ant: inoffensive, unoffending]
4: morally offensive; "an unsavory reputation"; "an unsavory scandal" [syn: unsavory, unsavoury, offensive] [ant: savory, savoury]
5: unpleasant or disgusting especially to the senses; "offensive odors" [ant: inoffensive]
6: substitute a harsher or distasteful term for a mild one ; "`nigger' is a dysphemistic term for `African-American'" [syn: dysphemistic, offensive] [ant: euphemistic, inoffensive]
7: causing or able to cause nausea; "a nauseating smell"; "nauseous offal"; "a sickening stench" [syn: nauseating, nauseous, noisome, queasy, loathsome, offensive, sickening, vile] n
1: the action of attacking an enemy [syn: offense, offence, offensive]

Merriam Webster's

I. adjective Date: circa 1564 1. a. making attack ; aggressive b. of, relating to, or designed for attack <offensive weapons> c. of or relating to an attempt to score in a game or contest; also of or relating to a team in possession of the ball or puck 2. giving painful or unpleasant sensations ; nauseous, obnoxious <an offensive odor> 3. causing displeasure or resentment <offensive remarks> • offensively adverb • offensiveness noun II. noun Date: 1687 1. the act of an attacking party 2. attack

Oxford Reference Dictionary

adj. & n. --adj. 1 giving or meant or likely to give offence; insulting (offensive language). 2 disgusting, foul-smelling, nauseous, repulsive. 3 a aggressive, attacking. b (of a weapon) meant for use in attack. --n. 1 an aggressive action or attitude (take the offensive). 2 an attack, an offensive campaign or stroke. 3 aggressive or forceful action in pursuit of a cause (a peace offensive). Derivatives: offensively adv. offensiveness n. Etymology: F offensif -ive or med.L offensivus (as OFFENCE)

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Offensive Of*fen"sive, a. [Cf.F. offensif. See Offend.] 1. Giving offense; causing displeasure or resentment; displeasing; annoying; as, offensive words. 2. Giving pain or unpleasant sensations; disagreeable; revolting; noxious; as, an offensive smell; offensive sounds. ``Offensive to the stomach.'' --Bacon. 3. Making the first attack; assailant; aggressive; hence, used in attacking; -- opposed to defensive; as, an offensive war; offensive weapons. League offensive and defensive, a leaque that requires all the parties to it to make war together against any foe, and to defend one another if attacked. Syn: Displeasing; disagreeable; distasteful; obnoxious; abhorrent; disgusting; impertinent; rude; saucy; reproachful; opprobrious; insulting; insolent; abusive; scurrilous; assailant; attacking; invading. -- Of*fen"sive*ly, adv. -- Of*fen"sive*ness, n.

Webster's 1913 Dictionary

Offensive Of*fen"sive, n. The state or posture of one who offends or makes attack; aggressive attitude; the act of the attacking party; -- opposed to defensive. To act on the offensive, to be the attacking party.

Collin's Cobuild Dictionary

(offensives) Frequency: The word is one of the 3000 most common words in English. 1. Something that is offensive upsets or embarrasses people because it is rude or insulting. Some friends of his found the play horribly offensive. ...offensive remarks which called into question the integrity of my firm. ADJ • offensively The group who had been shouting offensively opened to let her through... ADV: ADV after v, ADV adj 2. A military offensive is a carefully planned attack made by a large group of soldiers. Its latest military offensive against rebel forces is aimed at re-opening important trade routes... N-COUNT: oft supp N 3. If you conduct an offensive, you take strong action to show how angry you are about something or how much you disapprove of something. Republicans acknowledged that they had little choice but to mount an all-out offensive on the Democratic nominee. N-COUNT: usu supp N see also charm offensive 4. If you go on the offensive, go over to the offensive, or take the offensive, you begin to take strong action against people who have been attacking you. The West African forces went on the offensive in response to attacks on them... The Foreign Secretary has decided to take the offensive in the discussion on the future of the community. PHRASE: V inflects

Soule's Dictionary of English Synonyms

a. 1. Aggressive, assailant, attacking, invading. 2. Disgusting, nauseating, nauseous, sickening, loathsome, repulsive. 3. Disagreeable, unpleasant, unpalatable, displeasing, revolting, shocking, abominable, detestable, hateful, execrable, obnoxious. 4. Irritating, disagreeable, unpleasant, impertinent, rude, saucy, opprobrious, insolent, insulting, abusive.

Moby Thesaurus

Fescennine, Rabelaisian, abhorrent, abominable, abusive, aggravated assault, aggression, aggressive, amphibious attack, antagonistic, appalling, armed assault, arrant, assailing, assailment, assault, atrocious, attack, attacking, awful, backhand, backhanded, bad, bad-smelling, banzai attack, barfy, base, battling, bawdy, beastly, bellicose, belligerent, below contempt, beneath contempt, blameworthy, blitz, blitzkrieg, bloodthirsty, bloody, bloody-minded, blue, boorish, brackish, breakthrough, brutal, caddish, calumnious, charge, chauvinist, chauvinistic, chintzy, cloying, coarse, combative, contemptible, contentious, contumelious, counterattack, counteroffensive, coup de main, crippling attack, crude, dead set at, degrading, deplorable, descent on, despicable, detestable, dire, dirty, disagreeable, discourteous, disgusting, displeasing, disrespectful, diversion, diversionary attack, dreadful, drive, egregious, enemy, enormous, evil, execrable, fecal, ferocious, fetid, fierce, fighting, filthy, flagrant, flank attack, forbidding, foul, foul-mouthed, foul-spoken, foul-tongued, frightful, frontal attack, frowsty, frowy, frowzy, full of fight, fulsome, funky, fusty, gamy, gas attack, ghastly, graveolent, grievous, grim, grisly, gross, gruesome, hateful, hawkish, head-on attack, heinous, hideous, high, horrible, horrid, hostile, humiliating, icky, ignoble, ill-bred, ill-smelling, impertinent, impolite, improper, impudent, impure, in bad taste, inappropriate, inconsiderate, indecent, indecorous, indelicate, inelegant, infamous, infiltration, inimical, insensitive, insolent, insulting, ithyphallic, jingo, jingoish, jingoist, jingoistic, lamentable, left-handed, lewd, lightning attack, lightning war, loathsome, lousy, loutish, louty, lurid, maggoty, malodorous, martial, mass attack, mawkish, megadeath, mephitic, miasmal, miasmic, mildewed, mildewy, militant, militaristic, military, moldy, monstrous, mugging, musty, nasty, nauseant, nauseating, nauseous, nefarious, nidorous, noisome, notorious, noxious, objectionable, obnoxious, obscene, odious, odorous, offense, olid, on the offensive, onset, onslaught, outrageous, overkill, overripe, panzer warfare, pitiable, pitiful, poisonous, pornographic, provocative, pugnacious, push, putrescent, putrid, quarrelsome, rancid, rank, raunchy, reasty, reasy, rebarbative, reechy, reeking, reeky, regrettable, repellent, repelling, reprehensible, repugnant, repulsive, revolting, ribald, rotten, rude, run against, run at, rush, saber-rattling, sad, salacious, sally, sanguinary, sanguineous, savage, scandalous, schlock, scrappy, scurrile, scurrilous, scurvy, shabby, shameful, shock tactics, shocking, shoddy, sickening, smellful, smelling, smelly, smoking-room, smutty, soldierlike, soldierly, sordid, sortie, spoiled, squalid, stenchy, stinking, strike, strong, stuffy, sulfurous, sultry, tactless, tasteless, terrible, threatening, too bad, trigger-happy, truculent, unappetizing, unbecoming, unbeseeming, unchaste, uncivil, unclean, uncongenial, undignified, unfeminine, unfitting, unfriendly, ungenteel, ungentle, ungentlemanly, ungrateful, unladylike, unmannerly, unpacific, unpalatable, unpeaceable, unpeaceful, unpleasant, unprintable, unprovoked assault, unrefined, unrepeatable, unsavory, unseemly, unsolicitous, unspeakable, unsuitable, untasteful, unwholesome, vile, villainous, vomity, vulgar, warlike, warmongering, warring, weevily, woeful, worst, worthless, wretched, yucky