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Offensive vs Disparaging - What's the difference?

offensive | disparaging |

As nouns the difference between offensive and disparaging

is that offensive is offensive (posture of attacking or being able to attack) while disparaging is disparagement.

As an adjective disparaging is

insulting, ridiculing.

As a verb disparaging is

.

offensive

English

Adjective

(en adjective)
  • Causing offense; arousing a visceral reaction of disgust, anger, or hatred.
  • Relating to an offense or attack, as opposed to defensive.
  • * {{quote-magazine, date=2013-06-07, author= Ed Pilkington
    • , volume=188, issue=26, page=6, magazine=(The Guardian Weekly) , title= ‘Killer robots’ should be banned in advance, UN told , passage=In his submission to the UN, [Christof] Heyns points to the experience of drones. Unmanned aerial vehicles were intended initially only for surveillance, and their use for offensive purposes was prohibited, yet once strategists realised their perceived advantages as a means of carrying out targeted killings, all objections were swept out of the way.}}
  • Having to do with play directed at scoring.

    • Usage notes

    * Nouns to which "offensive" is often applied: content, material, language, word, comment, remark, statement, speech, joke, humor, image, picture, art, behavior, conduct, act, action. * When the second syllable is emphasized, "offensive" is defined as "insulting". When the first syllable is emphasized, it refers to the attacker of a conflict or the team in a sport who possesses the ball.

    Synonyms

    * aggressive * invidious (Intending to cause envious offense)

    Antonyms

    * inoffensive (not causing offense or disgust ) * defensive (relating or causing defence )

    Derived terms

    * offensiveness

    Related terms

    * offend

    Noun

  • (countable, military) An attack.
    • The Marines today launched a major offensive .
  • (uncountable) The posture of attacking or being able to attack.
    • He took the offensive in the press, accusing his opponent of corruption.

    External links

    * * ----

    disparaging

    English

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Insulting, ridiculing.
    • The candidate made disparaging remarks about his opponent, but they only made him seem small for insulting a worthy adversary.

    Synonyms

    * degrading

    Verb

    (head)

    • Noun

    (en noun)
  • disparagement
  • * Thomas Hardy
    • I am tracked by phantoms having weird detective ways Men with a wintry sneer, and women with tart disparagings .