aggression

American  

[uh-gresh-uhn] / əˈgrɛʃ ən /

noun

• aggressions
  plural

1. the action of a state in violating by force the rights of another state, particularly its territorial rights; an unprovoked offensive, attack, invasion, or the like.

   The army is prepared to stop any foreign aggression.

   Antonyms:

   peacefulness

2. any offensive action, attack, or procedure; an inroad or encroachment.

   an aggression upon one's rights.

3. the practice of making assaults or attacks; offensive action in general.

4. Psychiatry. overt or suppressed hostility, either innate or resulting from continued frustration and directed outward or against oneself.

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aggression British  

/ əˈɡrɛʃən /

noun

1. an attack or harmful action, esp an unprovoked attack by one country against another

2. any offensive activity, practice, etc

   an aggression against personal liberty

3. psychol a hostile or destructive mental attitude or behaviour

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aggression Scientific  

/ ə-grĕsh′ən /

1. Behavior that is meant to intimidate or injure an animal of the same species or of a competing species but is not predatory. Aggression may be displayed during mating rituals or to defend territory, as by the erection of fins by fish and feathers by birds.

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• aggressor
  noun
• counteraggression
  noun
• preaggression
  noun
• antiaggression
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• aggressions
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of aggression

1605–15; < Latin aggressiōn- (stem of aggressiō ), equivalent to aggress ( us ) ( see aggress) + -iōn- -ion

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Explanation

Aggression is hostile, purposely unfriendly behavior that can sometimes be violent. A motorist who shows aggression for another may follow too closely, honk the horn, or otherwise try to intimidate. When someone deliberately tries to make another person feel intimidated or threatened, it's an act of aggression. Forceful, unfriendly behavior towards others is one example of aggression, and one country's hostile action toward another is also a kind of aggression. It's been used since the 1600s to mean "an unprovoked attack," from the Latin root word aggressionem, "attack," and in 1912 aggression was first used to mean generally "hostile behavior."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

aggression aggressions

"Swimming bursts are high-energy attack behaviors that represent an escalation of aggression towards the stimulus fish without making physical contact," explained Currie.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 18, 2026

“Masculinity isn’t aggression, and being a good man isn’t about never having anger or difficult emotions,” one mom said.

From Salon ● Oct. 18, 2026

Much of this Iranian aggression has been aimed at Jewish communities, Sir Ken added, and also at "harder targets, like military sites".

From BBC ● Oct. 13, 2026

Meanwhile, members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said a 2022 law bans Russian energy imports until Russia ends its aggression against Ukraine and stops threatening U.S. allies in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 12, 2026

Capping the brainstem is the R-complex, the seat of aggression, ritual, territoriality and social hierarchy, which evolved hundreds of millions of years ago in our reptilian ancestors.

From "Cosmos" by Carl Sagan

In foreign policy, Podhoretz counseled that an unapologetic defense of American interests abroad is likeliest to frustrate the aggressions of bad actors.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025

Such aggressions forced Pomos to disperse far from the lake, including to the North Bay.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 23, 2024

Overall, bonobos engaged in 2.8 times more aggressive interactions and 3 times as many physical aggressions.

From Science Daily ● Apr. 12, 2024

There were and are laws in this country that prohibit such discriminatory, hateful, criminal aggressions — and those who break those laws are subject to judicial punishments.

From Washington Times ● Jun. 12, 2023

Here the individual State is clearly unable to protect itself against foreign aggressions and foreign encroachments, and foreign policies must properly be placed in the hands of the Federal Government.

From Thomas Jefferson The Apostle of Americanism by Gilbert Chinard

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Related Words

• assault
• encroachment
• invasion
• offensive
• onslaught
• raid

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