Synonyms and Antonyms of onset
1
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
- the walls withstood the onset of the first battalion
aggression, assault, attack, attempt, blitz, blitzkrieg, charge, coup de main, descent, offense (or offence), offensive, onslaught, raid, rush, strike
ambuscade, ambush
counteraggression, counterassault, counterattack, counteroffensive, counterstrike
sally, sortie
envelopment, flanking
breakthrough, foray, incursion, invasion
pillage, ravage, sack
air raid, bombardment, bombing
siege, storm
barrage, cannonade, fusillade, hail, salvo, volley
whammy
2
the point at which something begins
- the claim that if you take enough vitamin C at the onset of a cold, you'll often recover faster
alpha, baseline, beginning, birth, commencement, dawn, day one, genesis, get-go (also git-go), inception, incipience, incipiency, kickoff, launch, morning, nascence, nascency, outset, start, threshold
drawing board, first base, ground zero, square one
creation, founding, inauguration, initiation, institution, origination
cradle, fountain, fountainhead, germ, origin, root, seedbed, source, spring, well, wellspring
dawning, opening
advent, appearance, arrival, debut (also début), emergence
childhood, infancy, youth
