rhizoverbBeta
DictionaryonslaughtOverwhelming attack
noun

onslaught

AHN-slawt/ˈɑːnslɔːt/

A fierce attack or overwhelming rush.

The breakwater faces an onslaught of steep storm waves.

An overwhelming succession of storm waves pounds a small harbor breakwater: one wave strikes in a violent burst while two steep waves crowd directly behind it.
Etymology

An onslaught is an attack, extended to an overwhelming rush. Its origin is uncertain: it apparently comes from, or was modeled on, Dutch aanslag, “attack,” though the early forms do not correspond well.

In context

LibriVox Audiobooks256:10
knowing they could not withstand our onslaught, they exacted a heavy toll for their own lives
Everyman at War. Sixty Personal Narratives of the War by Charles B. Purdom Part 1/3 | Audio Book

More examples

  • The help desk faced an onslaught of questions.
  • An onslaught of advertising filled the feed.
  • The coast prepared for the storm’s onslaught.

Forms

onslaught · onslaughts

Similar words

assault
An assault is an attack; onslaught emphasizes force and overwhelming scale.
barrage
A barrage is a concentrated succession of blows or messages; onslaught is the attack as a whole.