What 'kinetic' means: The article traces how 'kinetic' moved from Greek and physics into military jargon to denote direct physical force, as distinct from cyber or intelligence operations. It shows how the term has been used by officials to describe recent US actions and how critics view it as euphemistic or politically loaded. Ultimately, 'kinetic' functions as both a precise technical label and a rhetorical device that shapes public perception of force.
Word of the Week: What Does 'Kinetic' Mean When Officials Describe Military Attacks?
Illustration by Alberto Mier/CNN
When Republican Senator Mike Lee of Utah heard that US forces had struck Venezuela and taken its leader into custody, he pressed for clarification: without congressional approval, what legal or operational basis justified an attack inside another sovereign state?
About two hours later, Lee said he received an explanation from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Lee posted on X that Rubio told him Nicolás Maduro 'has been arrested by U.S. personnel to stand trial on criminal charges in the United States,' and that the 'kinetic action we saw tonight was deployed to protect and defend those executing the arrest warrant.' Lee concluded that the 'kinetic action' 'likely falls within the president’s inherent authority … to protect U.S. personnel from an actual or imminent attack.'
The word 'kinetic' — from the Greek kinētikos, meaning 'putting in motion' — has become commonplace in official descriptions of US operations. In recent months, officials have described attacks on vessels linked to Venezuela and Colombia as 'kinetic strikes,' saying the actions aimed to prevent drug trafficking and protect Americans.
From Physics To The Battlefield
Most readers first encounter 'kinetic' in physics: kinetic energy is the energy an object possesses because of its motion, as opposed to potential energy stored at rest. When the military adopted the term, it initially described weapons that damage by speed and mass rather than by explosive or chemical effects.
As linguistics researcher Neil Whitman noted in 2011, a 1978 'Code Name Handbook: Aerospace, Defense, Technology' listed the acronym SKEW for a shoulder-fired kinetic energy weapon. President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative also used the phrase 'kinetic energy weapons' to describe nonexplosive projectiles traveling at high velocity that inflict damage.
The Term Expands
Over time 'kinetic' broadened in military usage. As CNN senior military analyst James Stavridis explains, 'kinetic' now commonly signals direct physical violence — 'a bullet, a bomb, a knife' — while 'non-kinetic' refers to cyber operations, intelligence work and other actions that don't produce immediate physical effects but can still be strategically consequential.
Lawrence Freedman, emeritus professor of war studies at King’s College London, says this distinction grew in the digital era: as armed forces gained cyber capabilities and subtler instruments of influence, officials needed language to separate overt, destructive force from less visible operations.
Euphemism, Precision, Or Posturing?
Despite its attempt at precision, 'kinetic' has often become a rhetorical tool. During the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld used 'kinetic' to refer to taking forceful action — in effect, to unleashing the military’s combat power. Bob Woodward quoted administration officials debating when to begin 'going kinetic' against al Qaeda after September 11, treating visible strikes as a demonstration of resolve.
'Kinetic' has been criticized as a euphemism that sanitizes violence or frames it in technocratic terms.
In 2010 the American Dialect Society labeled 'kinetic event' — the Pentagon’s term for attacks on troops in Afghanistan — the most euphemistic phrase of the year. When the Obama administration used air strikes in Libya in 2011, a White House aide described the operation as 'a kinetic military action' to distinguish it from a formal war, underscoring how the term can be deployed to shape public perception.
Critics argue that 'kinetic' can be both obfuscatory and promotional: it may downplay the human cost of violence for those who oppose military intervention, while for proponents it may sound technocratic rather than heroic. As Freedman bluntly put it, 'kinetic' is often 'a completely superfluous word' used to signal that 'this time it’s serious, because stuff is getting destroyed, people are getting killed.' Others note a 'macho' edge: the term can serve as a shorthand for toughness and decisive action.
Why The Word Still Matters
Labeling an attack 'kinetic' does more than classify it as physical. It frames the action in legal and political terms: distinguishing between direct force and covert, cyber or informational measures can affect public understanding, congressional oversight, and claims of authority. The recent use of 'kinetic strikes' in reference to operations near Venezuela prompts a practical question: what would a 'non-kinetic strike' look like, and is the qualifier necessary when the word 'strike' already conveys force?
Whatever view one takes, 'kinetic' has moved from a technical descriptor to a contested political term — part jargon, part euphemism, and part rhetorical signal. Understanding its history helps readers parse how officials describe and justify the use of force.
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