aggression

noun

ag·​gres·​sion ə-ˈgre-shən 

1

: a forceful action or procedure (such as an unprovoked attack) especially when intended to dominate or master

2

: the practice of making attacks or encroachments

especially : unprovoked violation by one country of the territorial integrity of another

warned that any act of aggression could start a war

3

: hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior or outlook especially when caused by frustration

Aggression is often the expression of pent-up rage.

Synonyms

• aggressiveness
• assaultiveness
• bellicosity
• belligerence
• belligerency
• combativeness
• contentiousness
• defiance
• disputatiousness
• feistiness
• fight
• militance
• militancy
• militantness
• pugnacity
• quarrelsomeness
• scrappiness
• truculence

Examples of aggression in a Sentence

He has a lot of pent-up aggression.

behavior that is likely to provoke aggression

dangerous dogs showing aggression toward people

The government says that it will view any attempt to fly over its territory as an act of aggression.

Recent Examples on the Web

Still, despite the calmness of it all, Baby Kia raps with aggression and his opps and violence. —Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 13 Sep. 2024

The pair stressed the importance of the two countries’ intelligence partnership at a time when the global order is under threat, particularly from Russian aggression. —Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 7 Sep. 2024

Read: All of Shakespeare’s plays are about race While Orpheus labors to retrieve her, Eurydice meets several other characters whose mythic origins have often been retold through the lens of male violence or aggression. —Hannah Giorgis, The Atlantic, 6 Sep. 2024

Taken together, the two documentaries offer a striking portrait of a conflict that has dragged on for close to 1,000 days, while also illustrating how the unbearable cost of war has disproportionately fallen on the victims of Russia’s unprovoked act of aggression. —Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 5 Sep. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from French & Latin; French agression, going back to Middle French, "attack," borrowed from Latin aggressiōn-, aggressiō, from aggredī "to approach, attack" + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of action nouns — more at aggress

First Known Use

1611, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing aggression

• anti-aggression
• counter-aggression

Kids Definition

aggression

noun

ag·​gres·​sion ə-ˈgresh-ən 

1

: an attack made without reasonable cause

2

: the practice of making attacks

3

: hostile or destructive behavior or outlook

Etymology

derived from Latin aggredi "to attack," from ad- "to" and gradi "to step, go"

Medical Definition

aggression

noun

ag·​gres·​sion ə-ˈgresh-ən 

: hostile, injurious, or destructive behavior or outlook