aggressor
UK: əˈɡrɛsə | US: əˈɡrɛsər
n. a person or country that initiates hostile action or unprovoked attack
n. (law) a party accused of starting a conflict or dispute
Derived from Latin aggressor ("assailant"), combining ag- (variant of ad-, meaning "toward") + gressus (past participle of gradi, "to step or move"). The root gress appears in words like "progress" (forward movement) and "regress" (backward movement). The suffix -or denotes an agent, forming nouns indicating "one who does something." Thus, aggressor literally means "one who moves toward (with hostile intent)." The term evolved in English (16th century) to describe initiators of conflict, reflecting its Latin roots in physical and metaphorical advancement.
The UN condemned the aggressor for violating the ceasefire.
In the lawsuit, the plaintiff was deemed the aggressor.
Historical accounts often portray the invader as the aggressor.
The treaty held the aggressor accountable for war reparations.
Wildlife documentaries show how the smaller animal may become the aggressor in territorial disputes.