assault
Americannoun
-
a sudden, violent attack; onslaught.
an assault on tradition.
- Synonyms:
- aggression, invasion, charge, onset
-
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.
-
Military. the stage of close combat in an attack.
-
rape.
verb (used with object)
noun
-
a violent attack, either physical or verbal
-
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
-
-
the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters
-
( as modifier )
assault troops
-
-
rape or attempted rape
verb
-
to make an assault upon
-
to rape or attempt to rape
Synonym Usage
See attack.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
assaulternoun
-
nonassaultnoun
-
counterassaultverb (used with object)
-
assaultableadjective
-
assaultiveadjective
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unassaultableadjective
-
unassaultedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
assaultsimple
-
assaultssimple
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have assaultedperfect
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has assaultedperfect
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am assaultingprogressive
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are assaultingprogressive
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is assaultingprogressive
-
have been assaultingperfect progressive
-
has been assaultingperfect progressive
Past
-
assaultedsimple
-
had assaultedperfect
-
was assaultingprogressive
-
were assaultingprogressive
-
had been assaultingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
An assault is an attack. Getting punched, yelled at, or bombed are all types of assault. To assault is to attack or bombard someone in some way. Fighter planes can make an aerial assault, while ground troops make a ground assault. Verbal assault consists of insults, swearing, or threats. A strong criticism, like a negative review in the newspaper, is a written assault. Physical assault can range from getting pushed to getting shot. You could even say "That music is so loud it's assaulting my ear drums!"
Vocabulary lists containing assault
Hoot
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Nothing But the Truth
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Code Talker
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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.
See Examples For:
What would compel a consultant to dismiss signs that a candidate has contemptible views on sexual assault?
From Slate ● Aug. 1, 2026
Ramirez was detained for five days and charged with trying to assault a federal officer and interfere with their work — a case that went nowhere because he did no such things.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 31, 2026
US actor and singer Jared Leto on Wednesday denied allegations of sexual assault and harassment leveled against him by ten women in a new documentary aired by the BBC.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
A police chief has apologised after admitting phones were seized from the Manchester synagogue attacker months before the car and knife assault but they were not examined.
From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026
So they both lived, delighting in their own devices, and feared no assault, nor wrath, nor any end of their wickedness.
From "The Two Towers" by J. R. R. Tolkien
Homeland Security has previously told news outlets it does not have a “domestic terrorist” database, but said it monitors incidents of “threats, assaults and obstruction” of its officers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 2026
This year, despite the attacks, he expects an even bigger turnout as the population brushes off Russia’s unyielding assaults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
It added that the assaults were "an attack on the security and safety of international navigation, and the security of global energy supplies".
From BBC ● Jul. 7, 2026
The Malian army confirmed the rebel assaults on the four towns and Kenieroba on Facebook Saturday morning, asserting that "these attacks were vigorously repelled" and that "the situation is completely under control."
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Before the yellow fever epidemic, even the doctors who disagreed with Rush on medical matters would have defended him against Cobbett’s irrational assaults.
From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy
"I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life," the 54-year-old actor said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
Hearing Platner deny that he assaulted Fifield, and seeing so many rally behind him and against her, was too much.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
“To enter Colossal’s 55,000-square-foot Dallas headquarters is to find one’s senses fairly assaulted by the Power of Tech,” the publication wrote, describing it as a place where “many wondrous things are happening.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 2026
A woman named Lonna Drewes told reporters Tuesday that Swalwell sexually assaulted her in 2018 while she was thinking about running for the Beverly Hills City Council.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 16, 2026
I step through the curtain and my senses are assaulted.
From "Mockingjay" by Suzanne Collins
Under Essayli, federal prosecutors in L.A. have aggressively charged protesters with assaulting and impeding the actions of immigration agents, filing more than 100 cases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
Also on Thursday, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
Also on Thursday, a second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Trump of sexually assaulting her 30 years ago, people familiar with the probe said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
The winds that had been assaulting us suddenly disappeared.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
