assault
UK /əˈsɒlt/ · US /əˈsɔlt/ noun, verb
Forms assaults assaulting assaulted
- noun A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc. “The army made an assault on the enemy.”
- noun A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like “She launched a written assault on the opposition party.”
- noun (crime law) An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching the person, such as by raising a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at the person and missing.
- noun (singular only, law) The crime whose action is such an attempt.
- noun (tort law) An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm (such as brandishing a weapon).
- noun (singular only, law) The tort whose action is such an act.
- noun (fencing) A non-competitive combat between two fencers.
- verb (transitive) To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail. “Tom was accused of assaulting another man outside a nightclub.”
- verb (transitive) To threaten or harass.
Synonyms
onfall onrush aggression assailment attack attempt offense offensive onset onslaught strike rape violation ravishment assail set on ravish violate dishonor dishonour outrage round lash out snipe
Antonyms
Etymology
From Middle English assaut, from Old French noun assaut, derived from the past participle of the verb assalir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“at, towards”) + salīre (“jump”). See also assail. Spelling Latinized around 1530 to add an l.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town.
- noun A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government. Clarendon.
- verb To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces.
- verb To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a reputation or an administration.
Etymology [OE. asaut, assaut, OF. assaut, asalt, F. assaut, LL. assaltus; L. ad + saltus a leaping, a springing, salire to leap. See Assail.]
Etymology [From Assault, n.: cf. OF. assaulter, LL. assaltare.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “assault”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details