[syn: aggressive, belligerent]
The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48:
Aggressive \Ag*gres"sive\, a. [Cf. F. agressif.]
1. Tending or disposed to aggress; having or showing
determination and energetic pursuit of one's own ends at
the expense of others or mindless of others' needs or
desires; characterized by aggression; making assaults;
unjustly attacking; as, an aggressive policy, war, person,
nation; an aggressive businessman; an aggressive
basketball player; he was aggressive and imperious in his
convictions; aggressive drivers. Opposite of
unaggressive.
[1913 Webster + WordNet 1.5]
No aggressive movement was made. --Macaulay.
[1913 Webster]
2. Marked by self-confident ambition, vigorous
competitiveness, energy and initiative; as, an aggressive
young executive.
Syn: enterprising, pushful, pushing, pushy
[WordNet 1.5]
3. (Med., Biol.) Tending to grow or spread quickly; as, an
aggressive tumor. [Narrower terms: invasive (vs.
noninvasive) ] --AS
Syn: fast-growing(prenominal)
[WordNet 1.5]
4. Tending to initiate unprovoked attacks; initiating
unprovoked military action; eager to fight; as, aggressive
acts against another country.
Syn: belligerent.
[WordNet 1.5]
Note: Narrower related terms: {bellicose, combative,
pugnacious, scrappy, truculent ; {hard-hitting,
high-pressure ; {hostile (used of attempts to buy or
take control of a business: "hostile takeover";
"hostile tender offer"); predatory, rapacious,
raptorial, ravening, vulturine, vulturous . See also:
assertive, hostile, offensive.
[WordNet 1.5] -- {Ag*gres"sive*ly, adv. --
Ag*gres"sive*ness, n.
[1913 Webster]
WordNet (r) 3.0 (2006):
aggressive
adj 1: having or showing determination and energetic pursuit of
your ends; "an aggressive businessman"; "an aggressive
basketball player"; "he was aggressive and imperious;
positive in his convictions"; "aggressive drivers" [ant:
nonaggressive, unaggressive]
2: tending to spread quickly; "an aggressive tumor" [syn:
aggressive, fast-growing(a), strong-growing]
3: characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight; "aggressive
acts against another country"; "a belligerent tone" [syn:
aggressive, belligerent]
Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0:
141 Moby Thesaurus words for "aggressive":
abrupt, active, acute, adventuresome, adventurous, ambitious,
animated, antagonistic, assertive, battling, bearish, beastly,
bellicose, belligerent, bickering, bloodthirsty, bloody,
bloody-minded, bluff, blunt, bold, brash, brisk, brusque, cavalier,
chauvinist, chauvinistic, churlish, combative, contentious, crusty,
curt, disputatious, divisive, domineering, driving, dynamic, enemy,
energetic, enterprising, enthusiastic, eristic, factional,
factious, ferocious, fierce, fighting, forceful, forcible, forward,
full of fight, full of pep, go-ahead, go-go, gruff, hard-hitting,
harsh, hawkish, hearty, hostile, hustling, imperious, impetuous,
incisive, inimical, intense, irascible, irritable, jingo, jingoish,
jingoist, jingoistic, keen, kinetic, litigious, lively, living,
lusty, martial, masterful, mettlesome, militant, militaristic,
military, offensive, on the offensive, partisan, peppy, polarizing,
polemic, pugnacious, pushful, pushing, pushy, quarrelsome, robust,
rough, saber-rattling, sanguinary, sanguineous, savage, scrappy,
self-assertive, severe, sharp, short, shrewish, smacking, snappy,
snippy, soldierlike, soldierly, spanking, spirited, strenuous,
strong, surly, take-charge, take-over, tough, trenchant,
trigger-happy, truculent, unfriendly, unpacific, unpeaceable,
unpeaceful, up-and-coming, venturesome, venturous, vibrant,
vigorous, vivacious, vivid, warlike, warmongering, warring,
wrangling, zestful, zesty, zippy