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Glite Dictionary
to set upon

to set upon

5 6.9
To attack someone suddenly from several sides
  • phrasal verb
  • NSFW
translation icon : atacar
  • Max stares in horror as Zack is set upon by the human wolves.

I refused, and I ended up being set set upon.

Examples

  • I was set upon by a band of bowmen.

    Prince Valiant (1954)

  • No sooner had we left you, then we were set upon by a gang of thieves!

    Pinocchio and the Emperor of the Night (1987)

  • Poor girl, to be set upon like that!

    Fantasm Comes Again (1977)

  • - We were set upon.

    Sherlock Holmes (2009)

  • - We four set upon a dozen of 'em.

    My Own Private Idaho (1991)

  • Let me tell you, Pratt, they set upon him like a pack of dogs.

    Fiction book (1996)

  • A nearby crowd witnessed the incident and set upon Costello.

    Academic text (2005)

  • Indeed, if he hadn't been set upon by robbers early in his trip, he would have hired a taxi all the way.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • It all began a very long time ago, when a merchant ship was set upon by pirates of the Sengh Brotherhood.

    The Phantom (1996)

  • The travelers were suddenly set upon by a group of masked thieves.

Synonyms

to attack
vsto set upon
∞ 1.3

To use force to hurt people or damage things

is sudden and from all sides rather than a general use of force
to assail
vsto set upon
  • Formal
16 8.0

To attack violently, upset someone deeply or criticize them strongly

is sudden and from every side rather than only forceful or verbal
to beset
vsto set upon
15 7.9

To surround and cause repeated problems for someone or something

is a sudden assault from all sides rather than long persistent harassment
to set on
vsto set upon
  • Offensive
8 5.8

To attack someone physically or with mean words

is sudden and happens from all sides rather than being general

Antonyms

to defend
∞ 1.3

To protect people and things from attack or harm

retreat
93 4.4

A move back from a place to escape danger

How Violent

attack
∞ 1.4
to set upon
  • NSFW
5 6.9
assault
  • Specialized
378 4.5
to confront
310 4.1
to accost
24 8.0

Surface Forms

set upon infinitive
set upon past
set upon past participle
setting upon present participle
sets upon third person singular

Morphology

set + upon

The meaning 'to attack someone suddenly' is directly derivable from 'set' (to urge on or to set an animal to attack) combined with 'upon' (on/against), so the composite conveys causing or directing an attack. This follows a common causative + preposition pattern (set on/upon) that is cross-linguistically transparent, so a B1 learner who knows the constituents will likely understand it.

Etymology

The verb set upon comes from hunting: hunters would set dogs upon an animal, putting the dogs onto it so the dogs would attack. That's why set upon now means 'to attack someone or something suddenly and from all sides'.