Definitions

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.

  • intransitive verb To initiate an attack, war, quarrel, or fight.

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun Aggression; attack.
  • To make an attack; commit the first act of hostility or offense; begin a quarrel or controversy; hence, to act on the offensive.
  • To encroach; intrude; be or become intrusive.
  • To attack.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • intransitive verb To commit the first act of hostility or offense; to begin a quarrel or controversy; to make an attack; -- with on.
  • intransitive verb take the initiative and go on the offensive, as in a game.
  • transitive verb rare To set upon; to attack.
  • noun obsolete Aggression.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun Aggression.
  • verb transitive To set upon; to attack.
  • verb intransitive To commit the first act of hostility or offense against; to begin a quarrel or controversy with; to make an attack against.

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • verb take the initiative and go on the offensive

Etymologies

from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 4th Edition

[French agresser, from Latin aggredī, aggress-, to attack : ad-, ad- + gradī, to go; see ghredh- in Indo-European roots.]

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License

From Latin aggressum, past participle of aggredi ("to attack, assail, approach, go to"), from ad ("to") + gradi ("to walk, go"), from gradus ("step"); see grade.

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Examples

  • In other words, when not permitted to express their aggression outwardly, girls 'aggress' against themselves.

    Tabby Biddle: Healthy Aggression in Girls 2009

  • My complacency had vanished; suddenly I had become the aggressor, if only I had known how to "aggress"; but in her presence I was seized by an accursed shyness that paralyzed my tongue, and the things I had planned to say were left unuttered.

    Project Gutenberg Complete Works of Winston Churchill Winston Churchill 1909

  • I had become the aggressor, if only I had known how to "aggress"; but in her presence I was seized by an accursed shyness that paralyzed my tongue, and the things I had planned to say were left unuttered.

    A Far Country — Complete Winston Churchill 1909

  • My complacency had vanished; suddenly I had become the aggressor, if only I had known how to "aggress"; but in her presence I was seized by an accursed shyness that paralyzed my tongue, and the things I had planned to say were left unuttered.

    A Far Country — Volume 1 Winston Churchill 1909

  • Besides, it is less than comforting to know that you're asking strangers if we should aggress.

    Bernard Radfar: Surreal Republican Scam Bernard Radfar 2011

  • Besides, it is less than comforting to know that you're asking strangers if we should aggress.

    Bernard Radfar: Surreal Republican Scam Bernard Radfar 2011

  • And it's one reason why you have to continue to pursue aggress ive counterterrorism policies abroad, to prevent that kind of scenario and also to prevent that kind of reaction.

    We're All Keynesians--Not 2010

  • These parties, these pro-Westerners here in the Russian government, they insisted that Iran, being fundamentalist, could at some time aggress us.

    dugin talks to the LA times! 2008

  • These parties, these pro-Westerners here in the Russian government, they insisted that Iran, being fundamentalist, could at some time aggress us.

    04 « September « 2008 « Niqnaq 2008

  • The United States has always exerted its self-given right to expand its territory and to aggress those nations that present a potential threat to U. S hegemony long before the Cold War, during the Cold War and after the Cold War.

    The Mafia Is Running the Giant World Casino 2010

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