as in counterattack
an attack made to counter an enemy's attack
the army launched a counteroffensive at dawn
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Recent Examples of counteroffensive
The TikTok trend appears to be a strategic digital counteroffensive, giving Chinese producers a platform to reach U.S. consumers directly while sidestepping both tariffs and middlemen.
—
Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
By late summer, Zelenskyy's forces had begun their own counteroffensive into Kursk, a Russian border region, a surprise move that put Moscow on its back foot.
—Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 24 Feb. 2025
Kyiv's troops have repelled months of Russian counteroffensives, but recent weeks have seen their salient crumble and Russian forces retake significant ground.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2025
And after that delay, the momentum on the front lines changed from Ukraine pursuing a mostly unsuccessful counteroffensive, to being largely in defense.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counteroffensive
Matt Robison, MSNBC Newsweek, 16 Apr. 2025
By late summer, Zelenskyy's forces had begun their own counteroffensive into Kursk, a Russian border region, a surprise move that put Moscow on its back foot.
—Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 24 Feb. 2025
Kyiv's troops have repelled months of Russian counteroffensives, but recent weeks have seen their salient crumble and Russian forces retake significant ground.
—Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 14 Mar. 2025
And after that delay, the momentum on the front lines changed from Ukraine pursuing a mostly unsuccessful counteroffensive, to being largely in defense.
—Nick Paton Walsh, CNN, 4 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for counteroffensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counteroffensive
counterattack
Noun
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The volume and intensity of incoming fire indicated a sizeable NVA force, a counterattack likely.—
Chicago Tribune,
Chicago Tribune,
26 May 2025
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An orbital system would be complex, costly, and ultimately vulnerable to counterattack, warns Laura Grego, a physicist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, a group skeptical of missile defense development.—
Geoff Brumfiel,
NPR,
20 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Counteroffensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counteroffensive. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.
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