offensive
n. countablen. a planned attack or a strong effort to achieve something. You often hear this in news about wars or sports teams trying to win.
n. a concerted military attack or a large-scale organized effort to achieve a specific goal. Often used in political or sporting contexts to describe a proactive campaign.
The army launched a major offensive at dawn.
The marketing team started a media offensive to win back customers after the recent scandal.
Military historians argue that the spring offensive failed not due to a lack of resources, but because the logistical chains could not keep pace with the rapid territorial gains.
From Middle French offensif, from offendre + -if by analogy with défensif. Offendre is from Latin offendere (“to offend”); see offend.
Commonly used with the verbs 'launch', 'start', or 'take'.
- 01
charm offensive
A campaign of deliberately using charm and flattery in order to achieve some goal, especially in a political or diplomatic field.
- 02
prawn cocktail offensive
a strategy of the Labour Party in winning over important people in the world of finance
- 03
take the offensive
To attack instead of defending; to be bold and proactive.