onslaught

[on-slawt, awn-]

noun

1. an onset, assault, or attack, especially a vigorous one.

onslaught

/ ˈɒnˌslɔːt /

noun

1. a violent attack

Word History and Origins

Origin of onslaught¹

1615–25; < Dutch aanslag a striking, (earlier) attack (equivalent to aan on + slag blow, stroke; akin to slay ), with assimilation to obsolete slaught slaughter

Word History and Origins

Origin of onslaught¹

C17: from Middle Dutch aenslag, from aan _on + slag a blow, related to _slay

Example Sentences

It’s an onslaught of extravagant Rococo, Neoclassical, Art Nouveau, modern and contemporary porcelain showpieces, gilded and in dazzling blues, turquoises, ochers and pinks—made for sovereigns, dignitaries, diplomats, heads of state and the wealthy elite.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

One is immigration, which in Japan refers as much to an onslaught of foreign tourists—read: Chinese—as to economic migrants or asylum seekers.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

But 10 minutes into the onslaught that fateful Saturday morning on Oct.

Read more on Los Angeles Times

These firms "will be protected from the onslaught of outside interruptions", he wrote.

Read more on BBC

Salt, dismissed for a golden duck in Cardiff on Wednesday, was quickly out of the blocks on home turf, hitting 18 runs off his first three balls to set the tone for England's onslaught.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• aggression 
• assault 
• blitz 
• incursion 
• invasion 
• offensive 
• onset