aggressive
Americanadjective
-
characterized by or tending toward unprovoked offensives, attacks, invasions, or the like; militantly forward or menacing.
aggressive acts against a neighboring country.
- Synonyms:
- militant, pugnacious
- Antonyms:
- friendly
-
making an all-out effort to win or succeed; competitive.
an aggressive basketball player.
- Synonyms:
- assertive, enterprising, forceful
-
vigorously energetic, especially in the use of initiative and forcefulness.
an aggressive salesperson.
-
boldly assertive and forward; pushy.
an aggressive driver.
-
emphasizing maximum growth and capital gains over quality, security, and income.
an aggressive mutual fund.
-
Medicine/Medical.
-
(of a disease or tumor) growing or spreading rapidly; highly invasive; difficult or impossible to treat successfully.
aggressive brain lesions.
-
pertaining to a risky surgery or treatment, or to a medication that has grave side effects.
aggressive chemotherapy.
-
-
(of a plant) spreading more rapidly than is desirable; tending to spread where not wanted.
The joe-pye weed may be too aggressive to contain in the small area you’ve designated.
adjective
-
quarrelsome or belligerent
an aggressive remark
-
assertive; vigorous
an aggressive business executive
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of aggressive
First recorded in 1690–1700; from Late Latin aggressīvus, derivative of Latin aggressus, past participle of aggredī “to go to, approach, attack”
Explanation
Someone or something aggressive shows a lot of energy and has a strong impact. After the aggressive salesman stopped them again on their way through the mall, the couple got aggressive and replied in a loud, made-up foreign language until he went away. Being aggressive often means being physical or showing force, but it is equally powerful as an adjective reflecting a forceful determination to get something done. An aggressive football player may tackle everyone in sight to get a win, while a driven student might tackle a project or problem head-on with aggressive determination to improve their grade. Aggressive comes from the Latin aggress-, "attack," and being aggressive shows an intention to attack bodily, mentally, or verbally whatever gets in the way.
Vocabulary lists containing aggressive
The Hate U Give
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
While huge demand for AI chips has powered their earnings growth, investors are watching companies’ spending on their AI buildout carefully on concern that the aggressive pace may not be sustainable.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 23, 2026
This change required reorganization, large capital investments, and aggressive public-relations and lobbying campaigns to win the necessary regulatory and legal permissions.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 23, 2026
"He was quite aggressive," she said her friend had told her.
From BBC ● Oct. 22, 2026
However, in rheumatoid arthritis, they can become abnormally aggressive, multiplying excessively, releasing inflammatory substances, and contributing to cartilage damage and tissue scarring.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 22, 2026
When Farmer and his team intervened, proposing a very aggressive combination of MDR drugs—based largely on Farmer’s guesswork—they needed official approval from the Peruvian doctors before the drugs could be administered.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
