Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com

assaultive

American  
[uh-sawl-tiv] / əˈsɔl tɪv /

adjective

  1. tending or seeming to assault; physically aggressive.

    the assaultive behavior of the inmates; the assaultive manner of some rock bands.

Other Word Forms

  • assaultively adverb
  • assaultiveness noun

Etymology

Origin of assaultive

First recorded in 1950–55; assault + -ive

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.