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

Etymology

Origin of aggression

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

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

The researchers compared five different forms of aggression, ranging from ordinary conflicts to lethal attacks, using a large dataset spanning many primate species.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

"Unlike many large adult male bears, Backpack hasn't shown much aggression toward his competitors," his contestant profile says.

From Barron's ● Sep. 30, 2026

But Mr. Craighead intersperses his account with his captivating back story of his troubled youth and his search for meaning through righteous aggression and personal sacrifice.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 28, 2026

Katie McCabe, who switched from Arsenal to Chelsea this summer, has brought leadership and bite - an aggression that was lacking at times last season.

From BBC ● Sep. 27, 2026

As long as Buttercup feels he has the chance of catching the elusive light under his paws, he’s bristling with aggression.

From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins

The two nations’ ruling Communist parties have also established ways to tackle issues, such as Chinese aggressions against Vietnamese fishermen in the Paracels, out of the public eye.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 3, 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

It has for its purpose only to avoid the inconvenient consequences of individual aggressions on others.

From Schopenhauer by Thomas Whittaker

Related Words

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