assault
pronunciation
How to pronounce assault in British English:
UK [əˈsɔːlt]
How to pronounce assault in American English:
US [əˈsɔːlt]
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- Noun:
- close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
- a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped
- the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will
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- Verb:
- attack someone physically or emotionally
- force (someone) to have sex against their will
- attack in speech or writing
Word Origin
- assault
- assault: [13] To assault somebody was originally to ‘jump on’ them. The word comes from a Vulgar Latin compound verb *assaltāre, formed from the prefix ad- ‘to’ and saltāre ‘jump’, a frequentative form (denoting repeated action) of the verb salīre ‘jump’ (which is the source of English salient, and by a similar compounding process produced assail [13]). In Old French this became asauter, and English originally borrowed it as asaute, but in the 16th century the l was reintroduced.=> assail, somersault
- assault (n.)
- late 14c., earlier asaut (c. 1200), from Old French asaut, assaut "an attack, an assault, attacking forces" (12c.), from Vulgar Latin *adsaltus "attack, assault," from ad "to" (see ad-) + Latin saltus "a leap," from salire "to leap, spring" (see assail). In law by 1580s; historically, assault includes menacing words or actions; battery is an actual blow.
- assault (v.)
- early 15c., from Middle French asauter, assauter, from Vulgar Latin *assaltare (see assault (n.)). Related: Assaulted; assaulting.
Antonym
Example
- 1. But the latest assault differs in several respects .
- 2. But an assault might perhaps yield some components .
- 3. The landings called for an assault on a five-divisional front .
- 4. Critical blog posts felt like a full assault on my values .
- 5. Indeed , this year 's assault may be unprecedented .