assail
verb (used with object)
to attack vigorously or violently; assault.
was assailing
-
past progressiveof assail.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Other correspondents asked Trump why he was assailing a reporter during a national crisis.
From The Guardian ● Mar. 21, 2020
Omalu said the proposition that Clark was assailing the officers, meaning he was facing them, is “inconsistent with the prevailing forensic evidence.”
From Washington Times ● Apr. 1, 2018
McGovern was assailing the President on ethics and trying to get some traction on a little-known scandal called Watergate.
From Time Magazine Archive
I took an opportunity of starting when a stout English female was assailing our ascetic friend with trivial questions in wretched Italian.
From Tales of the Wonder Club Volume I by M. Y. Halidom
He had some papers in his hand at the time--plans, perhaps, of the works which he was assailing.
From History of Julius Caesar by Jacob Abbott
