different between offensive vs action

English

Alternative forms

• offencive (obsolete)

Etymology

From Middle French offensif, from Medieval Latin offensivus, from Latin offendere (“to offend”), past participle offensus; see offend.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /??f?ns?v/
• (sports): (US) IPA^(key): /???f?ns?v/

Adjective

offensive (comparative more offensive, superlative most offensive)

1. Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, or hatred.

   Antonym: inoffensive

2. Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.

   Antonym: defensive

3. (sports) Having to do with play directed at scoring.

Usage notes

• When the second syllable is emphasized, "offensive" is defined as "insulting". When the first syllable is emphasized, it refers to the attacker in a conflict or a sport.
• Nouns to which "offensive" is often applied: content, material, language, word, comment, remark, statement, speech, joke, humor, image, picture, art, behavior, conduct, act, action.

Synonyms

• aggressive
• invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

Derived terms

Related terms

• offend
• offense

Translations

Noun

offensive (countable and uncountable, plural offensives)

1. (countable, military) An attack.

2. (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.

Derived terms

Translations

Further reading

• offensive in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• offensive in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Danish

Adjective

offensive

1. plural and definite singular attributive of offensiv

French

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?.f??.siv/
• Homophone: offensives

Etymology 1

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

offensive f (plural offensives)

1. (military) offensive (an attack)

Descendants

• ? German: Offensive

Etymology 2

See the etymology of the main entry.

Adjective

offensive

1. feminine singular of offensif

Further reading

• “offensive” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

German

Pronunciation

Adjective

offensive

1. inflection of offensiv:
   1. strong/mixed nominative/accusative feminine singular
   2. strong nominative/accusative plural
   3. weak nominative all-gender singular
   4. weak accusative feminine/neuter singular

Italian

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /of.fen?si.ve/
• Hyphenation: of?fen?sì?ve
• Rhymes: -ive

Adjective

offensive

1. feminine plural of offensivo

Noun

offensive f

1. plural of offensiva

Norwegian Bokmål

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

Norwegian Nynorsk

Adjective

offensive

1. definite singular/plural of offensiv

English

Etymology

From Middle English accion, from Old French aucion,acciun, from Latin ?cti? (“act of doing or making”), from ?ctus, perfect passive participle of ag? (“do, act”), + action suffix -i?; see act.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /?æk.??n/
• Rhymes: -æk??n
• Hyphenation: ac?tion

Noun

action (countable and uncountable, plural actions)

1. Something done, often so as to accomplish a purpose.
2. A way of motion or functioning.

3. Fast-paced activity.

4. A mechanism; a moving part or assembly.

5. (music) The mechanism, that is the set of moving mechanical parts, of a keyboard instrument, like a piano, which transfers the motion of the key to the sound-making device.
6. (music) The distance separating the strings and the fretboard on a guitar.
7. (slang) Sexual intercourse.

8. (military) Combat.

9. (law) A charge or other process in a law court (also called lawsuit and actio).
10. (mathematics) A mapping from a pairing of mathematical objects to one of them, respecting their individual structures. The pairing is typically a Cartesian product or a tensor product. The object that is not part of the output is said to act on the other object. In any given context, action is used as an abbreviation for a more fully named notion, like group action or left group action.
11. (physics) The product of energy and time, especially the product of the Lagrangian and time.
12. The event or connected series of events, either real or imaginary, forming the subject of a play, poem, or other composition; the unfolding of the drama of events.
13. (art, painting and sculpture) The attitude or position of the several parts of the body as expressive of the sentiment or passion depicted.
14. (bowling) spin put on the bowling ball.
15. (obsolete) A share in the capital stock of a joint-stock company, or in the public funds.
    • 1751, Tobias Smollett, The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle, vol. IV, ch. 106:

      So saying he presented him with two actions of above two thousand livres each.

    • 1790, Edmund Burke, Reflections on the Revolution in France

      the Euripus of funds and actions

Synonyms

• (something done): deed; see also Thesaurus:action

Hyponyms

Derived terms

Related terms

Descendants

• ? German: Action
• ? Russian: ???? (ekšn)

Translations

See also

• deed
• Appendix:Collocations of do, have, make, and take

References

• action on Wikipedia.Wikipedia

Interjection

action!

1. Demanding or signifying the start of something, usually a performance.

   Antonym: cut

Translations

Verb

action (third-person singular simple present actions, present participle actioning, simple past and past participle actioned)

1. (transitive, management) To act on a request etc, in order to put it into effect.
2. (transitive, chiefly archaic) To initiate a legal action against someone.

Usage notes

• The verb sense action is rejected by some usage authorities.

References

• OED 2nd edition 1989
• Notes:

Further reading

• action in Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary, G. & C. Merriam, 1913.
• action in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.

Anagrams

• Catino, actino-, atonic, cation, cation-?

French

Etymology

From Old French acciun, aucion, etymologically reconstructed in Middle French to resemble the Latin acti?.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ak.sj??/
• Homophone: axion

Noun

action f (plural actions)

1. action, act, deed

2. campaign

3. stock, share

4. (Switzerland) a special offer

Derived terms

Further reading

• “action” in Trésor de la langue française informatisé (The Digitized Treasury of the French Language).

Anagrams

• cation, contai

Interlingua

Noun

action (plural actiones)

1. action

Related terms

• active
• activitate

Middle English

Noun

action

1. Alternative form of accion

Middle French

Etymology

From Old French acciun, aucion, etymologically reconstructed to resemble the Latin acti?.

Noun

action f (plural actions)

1. action; act

Descendants

• French: action

Scots

Etymology

From Middle English accion.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ak???n/

Noun

action (plural actions)

1. action

Verb

action (third-person singular present actions, present participle actionin, past actiont, past participle actiont)

1. to action

References

• Eagle, Andy, ed. (2016) The Online Scots Dictionary, Scots Online.