This article examines the means of expressing implicit verbal aggression as a specific form of verbal influence based on the discrepancy between the literal meaning of an utterance and its communicative effect. The article clarifies the concepts of ‘aggression’ and ‘verbal aggression’, emphasising their pragmatic orientation towards violating communication norms, influencing the addressee and imposing the speaker’s position. Particular attention is paid to implicit aggression, which is disguised as outwardly neutral or polite communication and realised through indirect speech acts, innuendo, ironically coloured expressions, a passive-aggressive manner of communication, as well as a pragmatically marked choice of linguistic means. It is demonstrated that implicit aggression manifests itself at the grammatical and lexical levels, and its interpretation requires a comprehensive pragmatic and discursive analysis.