assault

/ə'sɔ:lt/
Học thuật
Thân thiện
Definition

  1. Noun:

    • A violent physical or verbal attack: An act that threatens or attempts to inflict physical harm on someone.
    • The crime of forcing someone to submit to sexual intercourse against their will: The legal term for rape.
    • A military attack: A concentrated effort to capture a position by sudden, forceful attack.

  2. Verb:

    • To make a violent physical attack upon someone: To physically attack or beat someone.
    • To force someone to have sex against their will: To commit rape.
    • To attack verbally or criticize harshly: To make a strong, often unfair, spoken or written attack against someone or something.
Examples of Usage

  • Noun:

    • He was charged with assault after the fight. (He was formally accused of the crime of physical attack.)
    • The soldiers prepared for the final assault on the enemy fortress. (The soldiers got ready for the decisive military attack.)
    • She is a survivor of sexual assault. (She experienced the crime of being forced into a sexual act.)

  • Verb:

    • The man was arrested for assaulting a police officer. (The man was arrested for physically attacking a police officer.)
    • The newspaper editorial assaulted the mayor's character. (The newspaper article made a harsh verbal attack on the mayor's reputation.)
    • The law clearly defines what constitutes assaulting another person. (The law clearly defines what actions count as making a violent physical attack.)
Advanced Usage

  • "Assault and battery": A legal term combining the threat of violence (assault) with the actual physical contact or harm (battery).

    • The charges were upgraded from simple assault to assault and battery.

  • "Assault on the senses": A metaphorical use describing something that is overwhelmingly intense or unpleasant to see, hear, smell, etc.

    • The cacophony of the city was an assault on his senses.

  • "To be under assault": To be subjected to sustained attack or criticism.

    • Traditional values are under assault from modern media.
Variants and Related Words
  • Assaulter (n): A person who carries out an assault.
  • Assaultive (adj): Having a tendency to assault; characterized by violence.
  • Reassault (v): To assault again.
Synonyms
  • Noun: Attack, onslaught, charge, offensive, aggression, rape, violation.
  • Verb: Attack, assail, beat, batter, strike, rape, violate, berate, lambaste.
Related Phrasal Verbs/Phrases

(Note: "Assault" is not commonly used in standard phrasal verb constructions. Its meaning is typically contained in the single word or in fixed legal phrases like "assault and battery.")

Related Idioms

  • "To carry an assault": To execute a military attack.

    • The plan was to carry the assault under cover of darkness.

  • "Assault at arms": (Archaic) A display of military skill or a mock fight.

    • The knights engaged in an assault at arms for the king's entertainment.
Noun
  1. the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will
  2. thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1946
  3. a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped
  4. close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
Verb
  1. attack in speech or writing
    • The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker
  2. force (someone) to have sex against their will
    • The woman was raped on her way home at night
  3. attack someone physically or emotionally
    • The mugger assaulted the woman
    • Nightmares assailed him regularly

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