assault
Americannoun
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a sudden, violent attack; onslaught.
an assault on tradition.
- Synonyms:
- aggression, invasion, charge, onset
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Law. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do violence to another, with or without battery, as by holding a stone or club in a threatening manner.
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Military. the stage of close combat in an attack.
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rape.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a violent attack, either physical or verbal
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law an intentional or reckless act that causes another person to expect to be subjected to immediate and unlawful violence Compare battery assault and battery
-
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the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters
-
( as modifier )
assault troops
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rape or attempted rape
verb
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to make an assault upon
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to rape or attempt to rape
Related Words
See attack.
Other Word Forms
- assaultable adjective
- assaulter noun
- assaultive adjective
- counterassault verb (used with object)
- nonassault noun
- unassaultable adjective
- unassaulted adjective
Etymology
Origin of assault
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English asaut, from Old French, from Medieval Latin assaltus “attacked,” past participle of assalīre “to attack, jump on,” replacing Latin assilīre, both ultimately from Latin as- as- + salīre “to jump, leap”
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.
A Times analysis also found nearly a third of all cases involving an alleged assault against a federal officer in Los Angeles last year ended with prosecutors dropping charges or losing at trial.
From Los Angeles Times
Nuwan Thushara bore the brunt of the assault, conceding 31 runs in his first two overs as Pakistan seized early control.
From Barron's
With no up-front costs for attempting to enroll, phonies threw thousands of identities at the system’s 116 schools, which were technologically unprepared for the assaults.
From Los Angeles Times
Despite a collapse and a Travis Head assault, the tourists were still in the contest as day three dawned.
From BBC
Electricity was cut throughout much of the city as the assault unfolded, Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters.
From Los Angeles Times
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.
