onslaught
12
7.9
- noun
- /ˈɑnˌslɔt/
:
aluvión
- The team faced an onslaught of criticism after their last match, as fans expressed their frustrations online.
- onslaught of the media
It was pretty much an onslaught about my weight.
- It was pretty much an onslaught about my weight.
- How do you put up with this onslaught of meaninglessness?
- No amount of money is worth the onslaught of one star reviews from angry readers.
- There would just be, you know, an onslaught of lawmakers calling for him to step down.
- But I, I wanted to stem, you know, the, the onslaught from the media.
- And so it's life is this constant onslaught of challenges and problems and challenges and problems.
- Psychologists and scientists are finding that our brains are changing shape to cope with the onslaught of information.
- Be prepared for an onslaught of texts or text.
- And it's just like a constant onslaught.
- So obviously you, your, your, your major onslaught, if I can call it that, was in the God delusion.
- Thank goodness I'm not just had enough of the continual onslaught of abuse, but it would be Pete's an arsehole.
Examples
-
There would just be, you know, an onslaught of lawmakers calling for him to step down.
-
I am wondering what you do about the onslaught and deluge of media that we have every day.
-
And after two years, there was just an onslaught of public support.
-
Yeah, just the social media onslaught to get you guys here.
-
Well, then let the onslaught continue.
-
No amount of money is worth the onslaught of one star reviews from angry readers.
-
There is like a public, targeted onslaught towards queer people.
-
Perhaps not on Facebook, but they have faced the onslaught of boycotts and bad press for decades.
Blog text (3) -
Quick to smile, laugh, and joke, she welcomed a continual onslaught of visiting neighbors and children into her compound.
Academic text (2007) -
"It's been hectic," said Federalist Society executive director Eugene Meyer in the midst of the media onslaught.
Academic text (2001)
Synonyms
143
4.2
A sudden strong movement forward or upward, like a wave
83
3.9
A sudden strong show of feeling like anger or laughter
75
2.4
A very large number of things that arrive suddenly
59
4.1
A large number of people or things arriving at a place
42
4.2
A sudden large flow, for example of water, or a strong expression of feeling
36
5.1
A sudden large number of messages or requests that arrive at once
35
6.8
A large fast stream of questions, messages or criticism sent to someone
8
6.8
A very large amount of something that arrives at once
3
6.1
Many questions or messages sent quickly and repeatedly to someone
A large number of complaints arriving at the same time
A sudden large wave of comments from many people that follows an event
Antonyms
How Intense
Surface Forms
Morphology
onslaught = slaughter (semi-transparent) = on + slaught
The morphology reflects on + a historical root (related to 'slaughter'); the figurative extension to streams of speech or criticism is predictable as an extension of 'attack' but not fully derivable from component meanings alone. [Postprocessing: moved 'on' from base_words to prefix]
Etymology
Onslaught comes from old parts on- and slaught, where slaught once meant 'to strike' or 'attack' and is like the start of slaughter. So we also use onslaught for a sudden flood of questions, complaints, or messages, because it feels like being 'attacked' by many things at once.