Aggressive

Part of speech: adjective

Pronunciation: /əˈɡɹɛs.ɪv/

Definitions

1. Behaving in a forceful, hostile, or confrontational manner toward others
2. Showing readiness to attack or challenge others directly ; demonstrating a firm and energetic approach to achieving goals
3. Exhibiting hostility or combativeness in behavior toward others ; being confidently forceful and persistent in pursuing objectives

Etymology: The adjective "aggressive" is built from the verb "aggress," which English borrowed from Latin "aggressus," the past participle of "aggredi," meaning "to step toward" or "to approach." The Latin verb combined "ad-" ("toward") with "gradi" ("to walk" or "step"), so at its root the idea is one of moving toward something. That physical sense of advancing on a place or a person gradually hardened into the notion of attacking. English then added the suffix "-ive," which descends through Old French "-if" from Latin "-ivus," a common adjective-forming ending meaning "tending to" or "having the nature of." Adding it to "aggress" produced an adjective describing someone or something inclined to make the first move. The French "agressif" shows the same construction, so the two languages built the word in parallel from the same Latin material.

Synonyms: hostile, belligerent, assertive

Antonyms: passive, submissive, docile