Aggressor
/əˈɡrɛsər/
nounIntermediate📊CommonPerson
1 meaning1 question
Definitions
1
A person who initiates hostilities or an attack.
/əˈɡrɛsər/
nounnegativeIntermediate
Person
One who initiates aggression.
The aggressor was quickly subdued by security.
💡 Simply: Someone who starts a fight or argument.
More Examples
2
He acted as the aggressor, initiating the conflict.
How It's Used
International Relations
"The aggressor nation was condemned by the UN."
Law Enforcement
"The police identified the aggressor in the fight."
From Latin *aggressor*, present participle of *aggredi* "to approach, attack", from *ad-* "to" + *gradi* "to step, walk".
The word has been used in contexts of warfare and conflict since its inception.
Memory tip
Think 'aggress' – to attack; adding '-or' makes it the person doing the attacking.
Word Origin
Original meaning
"to approach, attack"
Base: aggress
unprovoked aggressormilitary aggressormain aggressor
Common misspellings
agressoragressragresser
Practice
Usage
30%Spoken
70%Written