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aggression

aggression

113 4.4
The act of starting an attack against another country or group
  • noun
  • /əˈɡrɛʃən/
  • Formal
: agresión
  • I realized that the war of aggression had also robbed me of my childhood.
  • an act of aggression
  • war of aggression
  • military aggression

These are the seven acts of economic aggression that continue to this day, right?

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Examples

  • This will not stand, this aggression against Kuwait.

  • But what if the aggression is not clearly a military attack?

    Academic text (2015)
  • Sometimes aggression has its uses.

  • Any failure to obey any command will be considered an act of aggression against us.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • We have seen evidence of a wide variety of territorial aggression.

  • The Ukrainian resistance to Russian aggression was one of the greatest gifts the West has ever received.

  • Further attempts on our resources will be considered an act of aggression and met with a much steeper response.

  • An overt act of aggression would trigger World War III.

  • Its aggression in Georgia should have been the wake-up call that its aggression in Ukraine has belatedly become.

    Academic text (2015)
  • Vietnam has released new video to prove its claims of aggression in the South China Sea.

Synonyms

strike
vsaggression
411 7.0

A military attack to destroy a specific target

is any initiating attack not limited to targeted military missions
invasion
vsaggression
374 4.3

An attack in which an army enters another country to take control

covers initiating attacks generally rather than full scale conquest actions
offensive
vsaggression
128 7.4

A large attack by an army to gain control

focuses on starting attacks in general not only large military campaigns
hostilities
vsaggression
  • Formal
45 7.4

Fighting between two countries or groups during a war

is any act that starts attacks rather than only wartime fighting
incursion
vsaggression
28 8.2

A sudden short attack into enemy land

is a general act of starting attacks rather than a quick raid
aggressive behavior
vsaggression
16 4.1

Actions that hurt or try to control other people

covers initiating attack between parties rather than personal hostile conduct
hostility
vsaggression
14 5.2

Violent acts between groups or countries

is the broader act of initiating attack not only unprovoked violence

Antonyms

482 1.0

A calm, friendly relationship between people or groups without argument

112 5.3

A return to friendly relations after a disagreement

Compounds

A way of showing anger indirectly, for example by not doing promised tasks

How Aggressive

invasion
374 4.3
attack
∞ 1.4
aggression
  • Formal
113 4.4
skirmish
39 6.4
dispute
345 3.0

Surface Forms

aggression singular
aggressions plural

Morphology

aggression = aggress (semi-transparent) = ag + gress + ion

The transformation from 'aggress' to 'aggression' is clear, but the base 'aggress' itself is less commonly known.

Etymology

The word aggression comes from Latin parts ad- 'to' and gress 'step', the same root you see in progress. It originally meant a 'stepping forward', so today aggression can mean the act of starting an attack or hostile action against another.