Definition

1. Noun:

   • Intense and continuous artillery fire: A cannonade refers to a prolonged and heavy bombardment using cannons or large guns, typically in a military context.

2. Verb:

   • To attack with cannons or artillery: To cannonade means to bombard a target persistently with heavy gunfire from cannons or similar large-caliber weapons.

Usage Examples

• Noun:

  • The fortress endured a relentless cannonade for three days.
  • The sudden cannonade from the enemy ships shook the coastal town.

• Verb:

  • The warships began to cannonade the enemy positions at dawn.
  • Historians wrote that the army would cannonade the city walls before an assault.

Advanced Usage

• "to be subjected to a cannonade": to be under heavy, continuous artillery attack.

  • The troops were subjected to a fierce cannonade throughout the night.

• "to keep up a cannonade": to sustain a continuous artillery bombardment.

  • The general ordered his batteries to keep up a cannonade on the enemy fortifications.

Variants and Related Words

• Cannon (n): A large, heavy piece of artillery, typically mounted on wheels, formerly used in warfare.
• Cannonading (n/gerund): The act or process of bombarding with cannons. (e.g., )

Synonyms

• Noun: Barrage, bombardment, shelling, fusillade.
• Verb: Bombard, shell, pound, blitz.

Related Phrases

• "a cannonade of criticism" (figurative, noun): An intense and sustained verbal attack.
  • The new policy faced a cannonade of criticism from the opposition.

Notes on Meaning

• The term cannonade strongly implies both intensity and duration. A single cannon shot is not a cannonade; it is a sustained series of shots.
• While historically associated with cannons, its modern usage can extend to any heavy, continuous artillery or even metaphorical barrages (e.g., of questions, insults).

Noun

1. intense and continuous artillery fire

Verb

1. attack with cannons or artillery