assault
noun
as·sault
| \ ə-ˈsȯlt
\
\
Definition of assault
(Entry 1 of 2)
1a
: a violent physical or verbal attack
b
: a military attack usually involving direct combat with enemy forces
an assault on the enemy's air base
c
: a concerted effort (as to reach a goal or defeat an adversary)
an assault on drug trafficking
2 law
a
: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person (as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner) that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension (see apprehension sense 1) of such harm or contact — compare battery sense 1b
assault
verb
assaulted;
assaulting;
assaults
Definition of assault (Entry 2 of 2)
1
: to make an assault on : to attack violently
assaulted a police officer
2
: rape sense 1
The victim was sexually assaulted.
: to make an assault
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Synonyms for assault
Synonyms: Noun
rape, ravishment, sexual assault, violation
Synonyms: Verb
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Examples of assault in a Sentence
Noun
She was injured in a brutal assault. the body of the murdered woman also showed signs of assaultVerb
He was arrested for assaulting a police officer. She verbally assaulted one of her coworkers. Enemy forces assaulted the city.
Recent Examples on the Web: Noun
The charge of assault with a dangerous weapon was pending in South Boston Municipal Court at the time of his death, court records show. — Sarah Wu, BostonGlobe.com, "‘He never would have come to mind as someone who would lose his life to gun violence’: Remembering Aquil Muhammad, Boston’s youngest homicide victim of 2019," 30 Aug. 2019 This is why these kinds of assaults are underreported. — Chelsea Greenwood Lassman, Teen Vogue, ""13 Reasons Why" Season 3 Recapped and the Questions We Have for Season 4," 29 Aug. 2019 He was charged with two counts of second-degree assault. — Washington Post, "Southern Maryland crime report," 28 Aug. 2019 Welton, who has pleaded not guilty to the main allegations, also faces three counts of assault with a firearm, and discharging a firearm from a motor vehicle. — Richard Bammer, The Mercury News, "Defendant denies two murders, three attempted murders in early 2017 in Vallejo," 28 Aug. 2019 He was taken to the Jefferson County jail and held on suspicion of first-degree assault with a deadly weapon. — Kieran Nicholson, The Denver Post, "Suspect arrested in connection with shooting at Lakewood Walmart," 28 Aug. 2019 Put in that framing and the loss of the local in the face of an assault from globalization starts to sound like part of a far broader conflict taking place in Britain and beyond. — Jonathan Wilson, SI.com, "The Tragedy of Bury and Bolton," 27 Aug. 2019 He was arrested on suspicion of assault with a deadly weapon, among other charges. — Pete Grieve, SFChronicle.com, "Landlord, her friends arrested after staging home invasion to chase Mountain View tenants away, police say," 27 Aug. 2019 Then in 2018, Worden filed for divorce after McClain accused her of assault. — Claudia Harmata, PEOPLE.com, "NASA Astronaut Accused of Hacking Estranged Spouse's Bank Account from Space," 25 Aug. 2019Recent Examples on the Web: Verb
Birru pleaded no contest to assault with a firearm. — Los Angeles Times, "She faces deportation after shooting her husband. Now Gov. Newsom could pardon her," 23 Aug. 2019 In fact, the investigation revealed that Brown attacked the officer, attempted to wrestle his gun away, and then later ignored warnings to surrender and instead charged directly at the officer, apparently to assault him again. — Nr Editors, National Review, "The Week," 22 Aug. 2019 Olsen is charged with threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer. — Eric Levenson, CNN, "This little-known meme site has hosted two mass shooting threats this month," 21 Aug. 2019 August 12: Authorities charged an 18-year-old Ohio man who the FBI says threatened to assault federal law enforcement officers and showed support for mass shootings in a post online. — Cnn.com Wire Service, The Mercury News, "At least 27 people have been arrested over threats to commit mass attacks since the Gilroy, El Paso and Dayton shootings," 21 Aug. 2019 On May 9, 2018, Gaffney pleaded guilty once more — to assault with a dangerous weapon for the attack on Taylor. — Washington Post, "Hate crime reports have soared in D.C. Prosecutions have plummeted.," 21 Aug. 2019 Justin Olsen, 18, faces a charge of threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer. — Eric Heisig, Anchorage Daily News, "‘Shoot every federal agent on sight’: 18-year-old behind online threat had 10,000 rounds of ammo, feds say," 14 Aug. 2019 Justin Olsen, 18, faces a charge of threatening to assault a federal law enforcement officer. — Eric Heisig, al, "Man allegedly posted about mass shootings, claims he joined Alabama ROTC program," 13 Aug. 2019 She is accused of using the baton to assault the officer. — Diana Kruzman | The Oregonian/oregonlive, oregonlive.com, "Portland woman allegedly beat police officer with his own baton," 3 Aug. 2019These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assault.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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