assail
Americanverb (used with object)
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to attack vigorously or violently; assault.
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to attack with arguments, criticism, ridicule, abuse, etc..
to assail one's opponent with slander.
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to undertake with the purpose of mastering.
He assailed his studies with new determination.
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to impinge upon; make an impact on; beset.
His mind was assailed by conflicting arguments.
The light assailed their eyes.
verb
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to attack violently; assault
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to criticize or ridicule vehemently, as in argument
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to beset or disturb
his mind was assailed by doubts
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to encounter with the intention of mastering
to assail a problem
to assail a difficult mountain ridge
Related Words
See attack.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of assail
1175–1225; Middle English asaylen < Old French asalir < Late Latin assalīre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + salīre to leap, spring
Explanation
To assail is to attack or assault — with throwing stars, fists, words or, less tangibly but just as violently, with troubles or doubts. Believe it or not, assail evolved from the ancient Latin word assilire, which means "to jump on." So picture an attacker jumping on you, throwing punches and maybe some insults, too. Because assail also means to ridicule or heap your worries upon someone. As novelist Charlotte Bronte noted, “Conventionality is not morality. Self-righteousness is not religion. To attack the first is not to assail the last.” Think on that.
Vocabulary lists containing assail
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Othello
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Sad work thou mak'st, in bidding me oppose My will to Juno's, when her bitter words Assail me; for full oft amid the Gods She taunts me, that I aid the Trojan cause.
From The Iliad by Derby, Edward George Geoffrey Smith Stanley, Earl of
Assail and assault, tho of the same original etymology, have diverged in meaning, so that assault alone retains the meaning of direct personal violence.
From English Synonyms and Antonyms With Notes on the Correct Use of Prepositions by Fernald, James Champlin
O Prince, of mighty fame, be thou Our guardian and our monarch now, Lest secret plot or foeman's hate Assail our unprotected state.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)
When sacred rites of fire are due, When changing moons are full or new, These fiends who bleeding flesh devour Assail us with resistless power.
From The Rámáyan of Válmíki, translated into English verse by Griffith, Ralph T. H. (Ralph Thomas Hotchkin)
On a lone barren isle, where the wild roaring billows Assail the stern rock, and the loud tempests rave, The hero lies still, while the dew-drooping willows, Like fond weeping mourners, lean over his grave.
From Familiar Quotations A Collection of Passages, Phrases, and Proverbs Traced to Their Sources in Ancient and Modern Literature by Bartlett, John
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
