aggressive
AdjectiveOpen English WordNet
Adjective (3)
- 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”Opposite nonaggressiveSimilar competitive, battleful, pugnacious, truculent, obstreperous, hard-hitting, in-your-face, scrappy +2 moreSee also assertive, hostile, offensive
- tending to spread quickly“an aggressive tumor”Synonyms: fast-growingstrong-growingOpposite confinedSimilar invasive
- characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight“aggressive acts against another country”“a belligerent tone”Synonyms: belligerentOpposite amicableSimilar hostile
What does it mean? Question 1 of today’s quiz
Translations
Adjective tending or disposed to aggress
- Spanish
- agresivo
- French
- agressif
- German
- aggressiv
- Italian
- aggressivo
- Portuguese
- agressivo
- Turkish
- agresif
- Russian
- агресси́вный agressívnyj
- Chinese
- 好斗 hàodòu
- Dutch
- agressief
- Polish
- agresywny
19 more languages
- Swedish
- aggressiv
- Greek
- επιθετικός epithetikós
- Indonesian
- agresif
- Hungarian
- agresszív
- Portuguese (PT)
- agressivo
- Chinese (Trad.)
- 好鬥 hàodòu
- Catalan
- agressiu
- Czech
- agresivní
- Danish
- aggressiv
- Esperanto
- agresema
- Finnish
- aggressiivinen
- Georgian
- აგრესიული agresiuli
- Lithuanian
- agresyvus
- Norwegian
- aggressiv
- Romanian
- agresiv
- Scottish Gaelic
- ionnsaigheach
- Serbo-Croatian
- agresivan
- Slovak
- agresívny
- Yiddish
- אַגרעסיוו agresiv
The main translation for each meaning, from the langtolang.com multilingual dictionary. Each word links to its full entry there.
Webster's Dictionary (1913)
Origin: 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. [ + ]
No aggressive movement was made.— Thomas Babington Macaulay
2. Marked by self-confident ambition, vigorous competitiveness, energy and initiative; as, an aggressive young executive. Syn. — enterprising, pushful, pushing, pushy
3. Med., Biol. Tending to grow or spread quickly; as, an aggressive tumor. [Narrower terms: invasive (vs. noninvasive) ] AS Syn. — fast-growing(prenominal)
4. Tending to initiate unprovoked attacks; initiating unprovoked military action; eager to fight; as, aggressive acts against another country. Syn. — belligerent.
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.
— Ag·gres′wb-a1′>′sive·ly, adverb — Ag·gres′wb-a1′>′sive·ness, noun
Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913), from GCIDE 0.54 · with additions: WordNet 1.5