Aggressive — Meaning, Definition & Synonyms

Aggressive (adjective) — Senses, Synonyms & Antonyms

1. feeling or displaying eagerness to fight

   "a kindergarten teacher who discourages aggressive behavior, like pushing, by rewarding those children who wait their turn"

   similar: agonistic, argumentative, assaultive, bellicose, belligerent, brawly, chippy, combative, confrontational, contentious, discordant, disputatious, feisty, gladiatorial, militant, pugnacious, quarrelsome, scrappy, truculent, warlike, on the warpath
   related: antagonistic, fierce, hostile, hot-tempered, acidic, bearish, bilious, bristly, choleric, crabby, cranky, cross, disagreeable, dyspeptic, fractious, fretful, grouchy, grumpy, huffy, ill-humored, ill-natured, ill-tempered, irascible, irritable, ornery, peevish, pettish, petulant, prickly, querulous, rude, snappish, snappy, stroppy (British), surly, testy, touchy, ugly, waspish, savage, vicious, battling, fighting, warring
   opposite: nonaggressive, nonbelligerent, pacific, peaceable, peaceful, unbelligerent, uncombative, uncontentious
   near: anti-imperialist, antimilitarist, unwarlike, affable, amiable, amicable, benevolent, complaisant, conciliatory, cordial, easygoing, friendly, genial, good-natured, good-tempered, gracious, ingratiating, kindhearted, obliging, pleasant, sociable, calm, quiet, relaxed, serene, tranquil, benign, gentle, kindly, mild

2. having or showing a bold forcefulness in the pursuit of a goal

   "if you don't take a more aggressive approach to this yard pretty soon, the weeds are going to take over completely"

   similar: ambitious, assertive, enterprising, fierce, go-getting, high-pressure, in-your-face, militant, pushy, self-asserting, self-assertive
   related: argumentative, bellicose, belligerent, combative, contentious, discordant, disputatious, gladiatorial, pugnacious, quarrelsome, trigger-happy, truculent, warlike, hyperaggressive, overambitious, dynamic, energetic, gung ho, hustling, strenuous, vigorous, emphatic, obtrusive, adventuresome, adventurous, daring, dashing, emboldened, gutsy, venturesome, venturous, audacious, bold, brash, brassy, bumptious, cheeky, cocksure, cocky, confident, determined, forward, impudent, insolent, overconfident, presumptuous, unapologetic, unsubdued, unyielding, bare-knuckle, feisty, scrappy, dominating, domineering, imperious, lordly, magisterial, overbearing
   opposite: ambitionless, low-pressure, nonassertive, unaggressive, unambitious, unassertive, unenterprising
   near: easygoing, laid-back, relaxed, acquiescent, amenable, compliant, deferential, docile, resigned, submissive, tractable, yielding, cowering, cringing, groveling, shrinking, bashful, demure, diffident, humble, lowly, meek, mild, modest, mousy, overmodest, passive, quiet, reserved, retiring, shy, subdued, timid, unobtrusive, obsequious, servile, slavish, subservient

3. marked by or uttered with forcefulness

   "the team's game strategy depends on a very aggressive style of defense"

   similar: assertive, dynamic, emphatic, energetic, forceful, full-blooded, muscular, resounding, strenuous, vehement, vigorous, violent
   related: decided, insistent, marked, pointed, absolute, categorical, clear, plain, unambiguous, unequivocal, arresting, compelling, conspicuous, impelling, noticeable, striking
   opposite: nonassertive, nonemphatic, unemphatic
   near: guarded, mild, uncompelling, weak, wishy-washy, ambiguous, equivocal, halting, hesitant, understated