to assail
16
8.0
- verb
- /əˈseɪl/
- Formal
- When they reach the intersection that marks the center of Pine Plains, she's assailed by doubt.
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Watch on YouTubeIf you conceive, OK, people are assailing me and you just go to a place of gratitude.
- If you conceive, OK, people are assailing me and you just go to a place of gratitude.
- Democrats, of course, on the left, assail a payroll tax cut and capital gains tax cut as really only helping wealthier individuals.
- But there are entire cases where assailing the other party will tell me why you're good.
Examples
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The AFL-CIO was soon assailing the Kennedy administration's "timid" approach to economic problems.
Academic text (2003) -
The party criticized compulsory membership and assailed the state's excessive capacity to intervene in the chambers' internal affairs.
Academic text (2000) -
Somebody can assail you, they can attack you, they can victimize you, but it's a choice as to whether or not you play the victim.
-
But when you are assailed by noise, all you can do is flee.
Academic text (2002) -
When you sit down to meditate, you will find yourself assailed by thoughts.
-
Many Malian contemporary artists have assailed the monuments on aesthetic grounds.
Academic text (2003) -
The first time he saw this, Tchaikov was assailed by a heart-wringing pang of hope.
Fiction book (1998) -
Ramirez steps out and he's assailed by a bunch of kids begging and trying to grab his baggage.
Fiction book (1997) -
Local street-side crafts such as shoe-making are also being assailed by Chinese competition (Mbaye 2009).
Academic text (2010) -
During the debate, the candidate decided to assail his opponent's policy on healthcare.
Synonyms
∞
1.0
To strike someone or something with force
∞
1.3
To use force to hurt people or damage things
570
1.4
To hit someone or something quickly with a closed fist
508
2.4
To hit someone or something with force
412
9.0
To beat or punish someone very badly
209
4.7
To attack someone physically or try to hurt them
78
5.6
Suddenly say angry things about someone by speaking or writing
54
9.9
To hurt or defeat someone very badly, often by hitting them
42
9.9
To defeat someone completely, often physically or in a game, used in rude speech
34
7.5
Hit something hard so it breaks or opens
33
8.8
To hit someone repeatedly with a heavy stick or club
24
4.4
Attack an enemy again and again in small ways to wear them down
13
6.5
Hit someone hard, often as punishment or in a fight
11
5.8
To attack someone physically or with mean words
11
6.8
To attack someone violently or criticize them very harshly
10
3.7
Hit someone or something very hard
8
6.9
To attack someone suddenly from several sides
5
9.8
Hit someone in the face very hard to hurt them
4
8.8
Hit a person's head very hard and cause serious injury
3
7.5
Hit someone or something hard and violently
2
9.9
To hit someone's face very hard to hurt them
2
8.6
To attack people or things in a violent way
2
8.6
To hit someone or something very hard and damage it
1
7.6
To hit someone or something many times violently
1
8.5
Criticize or attack someone strongly
1
9.9
To hit someone very hard or to shock someone very much
1
8.2
Attack someone sharply in speech or writing
To hit someone or something violently, often by running into them
To attack someone with your body or with strong words
Antonyms
How Forceful
Surface Forms
Etymology
Assail comes from the Latin parts ad- ('to') and salire ('to jump'), so it originally meant to 'jump at' someone. You can see the same 'jump' idea in words like somersault and assault, which helps explain why assail means to attack someone quickly or strongly, with actions or words.