rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryassaultForceful attack
noun / verb

assault

uh-SAWLT/əˈsɔːlt/

A forceful attack or threat of violence.

The aggressor's assault sends the other adult stumbling backward.

An aggressor violently shoves another adult backward by the upper shoulders; the victim braces to stay upright, non-graphic and no injury detail, no weapons or celebratory tone.
Etymology
asLatintoward
+saultLatina leap

The pieces convey a leap toward someone: a forceful movement that became an image for attack. That image underlies the noun's meaning of a violent physical onslaught.

In context

Kings and Generals280:39
The order to commence the assault was now given. The French troops began marching at the double-quick in their assault column formation toward the enemy's defensive works.
War of the Spanish Succession: All Battles and Events - FULL DOCUMENTARY

More examples

  • The fortress endured a sustained assault.
  • The witness said the stranger assaulted him.
  • The speech launched an assault on the government's record.

Forms

assault · assaults · assaulted · assaulting

Similar words

attack
A broader hostile action, including nonviolent contexts.
battery
A legal term often specifically concerning unlawful physical contact.