offensive war
Attacking another nation
An offensive war is military conflict initiated by aggression rather than defense—one side attacks first rather than responding to attack.
The term carries moral and legal weight, as international law generally permits defensive wars while condemning wars of conquest or expansion: The invasion was widely condemned as an offensive war.
Distinguished from defensive war, though the distinction is often contested by the aggressor.
- aggressionHostile or attacking behavior
- act of warHostility justifying armed response
- invasionForcible entry into territory
- conquestDefeating and seizing control
- hostile takeoverUnwanted corporate buyout attempt
assault · attack · first strike · military · troops · boots on the ground · battlefield · enemy · enemy territory · siege · occupation · imperialism · expansion · total war · campaign · hostility · declaration · declaration of war
- WarsWorld War I, WWI, civil war, cold war, Korean War
- military aggressioninvasion, unprovoked attack, first strike, preemptive strike, surprise attack
offensive wardefensive war
Armed resistance to aggression
defensive action · territorial defense · homeland defense · just war · rearguard action
offensive warpeace
Freedom from disturbance
peacetime · diplomacy · peaceful coexistence · non-aggression · peaceful resolution
offensive, offense, offend, offender, offending, offended, offends, offenses, offensively