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 government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.
—
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Iran has been firing missiles at Israel and Arab states in a counteroffensive since the joint America-Israeli attack Saturday that killed Khamenei and many top Iranian officials.
—
Jon Gambrell,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
The government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.
—
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
Dynamic shifts on the battlefield — with large swaths of Ukrainian land changing hands in offensives and counteroffensives in the early years of the war — have since given way to a conflict of inches.
—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counteroffensive
CBS News,
2 Mar. 2026
Iran has been firing missiles at Israel and Arab states in a counteroffensive since the joint America-Israeli attack Saturday that killed Khamenei and many top Iranian officials.
—
Jon Gambrell,
Fortune,
2 Mar. 2026
The government has conducted a counteroffensive since January with aerial bombardments and ground assaults, despite an official commitment to the peace agreement.
—
ABC News,
25 Feb. 2026
Dynamic shifts on the battlefield — with large swaths of Ukrainian land changing hands in offensives and counteroffensives in the early years of the war — have since given way to a conflict of inches.
—
Joanna Kakissis,
NPR,
24 Feb. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counteroffensive
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counteroffensive
counterattack
Noun
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The first goal came in a true counterattack against the run of play in the 72nd minute as the Dutch broke down field after Verbuggen cleared the ball to Wout Weghorst, who had just entered the game as a substitute.
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Soviet forces were largely able to stop the German Eastern Front offensive with a counterattack in southwest Russia.
Cite this Entry
“Counteroffensive.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counteroffensive. Accessed 5 Jul. 2026.
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