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
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Recent Examples of offensives
Decades of military offensives, however, have considerably weakened Abu Sayyaf and other such armed groups, and Philippine military and police officials say there has been no recent indication of any foreign militants in the country's south.
—
Bradford Betz, FOXNews.com, 16 Dec. 2025
Russian forces are intensifying offensives in Donetsk, expanding long-range strikes on cities and energy infrastructure, and pressing for territorial concessions.
—Amir Daftari, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Dec. 2025
Troops once used stands of trees or other natural barriers to defend themselves against small offensives.
—Thomas Wright, The Atlantic, 11 Nov. 2025
Israel’s offensives outside Gaza were even more popular.
—Aluf Benn, Foreign Affairs, 10 Nov. 2025
There’s something rare about Swain, who is a young brainiac, but one who has built his business the old-fashioned, pre-quant-trading and Excel models Wall Street way, via charm offensives that weave webs of tight relationships few rivals can match.
—Shawn Tully, Fortune, 1 Nov. 2025
Chapter narrators alternate between a homing pigeon and a soldier whose futures intersect in the most terrible of war offensives in France.
—The Know, Denver Post, 19 Oct. 2025
Israel’s offensives displaced most of Gaza’s population, forcing more than two million people to run for safety to the shifting patches of land the Israeli military described as humanitarian zones.
—Kara Fox, CNN Money, 19 Oct. 2025
Debates have raged in the busy industry program, standby ticket queues have snaked outside venues for the hottest premieres and the stars — in their droves — have been out in force and on major charm offensives, with distributors using the fest to launch both awards and release campaigns.
—Alex Ritman, Variety, 17 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for offensives
Noun
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The agency was established in 2003 after the 9/11 attacks.—
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Ukraine's security service said that five rescue workers suffered injuries while responding to the site of ongoing attacks.—
Noun
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Other factors are driving up beef prices, too, including feed costs because of tariffs coming from Canada and labor shortages with immigrant raids on ranches.—
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In March 2024, his private plane traveled from California to Antigua amid raids on his homes in Los Angeles and Miami by federal agents, according to flight trackers reviewed by PEOPLE at the time.—
Noun
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Federal officials have said agents, including those part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are seeing increases in assaults and threats against them.—
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As in previous years, almost all the assaults on responsible growth management start with the premise that local government leaders can’t be trusted to guide (or even listen to) their own communities.—
Noun
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In the two games against quality offenses, Green Bay and Jacksonville, the Broncos' defense put up two average, at best, performances.—
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Legal experts note people playing ding-dong ditch can also face charges, with offenses ranging from criminal trespass to disorderly conduct.—
Noun
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If and when such aggressions fully materialize, the United States will lack the moral and ethical authority to credibly object.—
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Her visits to the controversial Yasukuni Shrine, which its nearest neighbors see as an homage to Japan’s past wartime aggressions, have also angered both of those nations.—
Noun
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The meeting comes as Tokyo seeks to rein in a deepening diplomatic and trade rift with China while strengthening ties with allies to counter Beijing’s attempts to isolate Japan.—
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Those concerns echo as Adebayo suffers through a jarring offensive slump that has left him, statistically, among the league’s worst high-volume shooting centers on two-point and three-point attempts.—
Noun
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The unrest entered its 12th day with general strikes spreading across major commercial centers and street clashes intensifying, particularly in western Iran.—
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Season One concludes with the Texas Tech geology graduate abandoning a well crew after tragedy strikes, only to achieve rapid success in his personal and work endeavors.—
Cite this Entry
“Offensives.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/offensives. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.
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