offensive

Etymology

From Middle French offensif, from offendre + -if by analogy with défensif. Offendre is from Latin offendere (“to offend”); see offend.

adj

1. Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, hatred, sadness, or indignation.
   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. Sept 12 2016, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, “Kareem Abdul-Jabbar: Political Incorrectness Is Just a Strategy”, in Time
2. Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
   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. 2013-06-07, Ed Pilkington, “‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told”, in The Guardian Weekly, volume 188, number 26, page 6
3. (sports) Having to do with play directed at scoring.
   The offensive coordinator is responsible for ordering all rushing plays.

noun

1. (countable, military) An attack.
   The Marines today launched a major offensive.
   In Central Hupeh, the Japanese launched another offensive from the Kingshan region, but instead of moving southwestward to cooperate with another column of theirs to capture Shasi, this column swerved to the northwest and succeeded in capturing Chunghsiang on the Han River. 1939 January, Lin Yu, “The "China Incident"”, in Philippine Magazine, volume XXXVI, number 1, →OCLC, page 121
2. (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.
   He took the offensive in the press, accusing his opponent of corruption.