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From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Assault \As*sault"\, verb (used with an object) [imp. & p. p. {Assaulted}; p. pr. & vb. n. {Assaulting}.] [From {Assault}, noun: cf. OF. assaulter, LL. assaltare.]
1. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces.
Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound. --Milton.
2. To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a reputation or an administration.
Before the gates, the cries of babes newborn, . . . Assault his ears. --Dryden.
Note: In the latter sense, assail is more common.
Syn: To attack; assail; invade; encounter; storm; charge. See {Attack}.
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.44 [gcide]:
Assault \As*sault"\, noun [OE. asaut, assaut, OF. assaut, asalt, F. assaut, LL. assaltus; L. ad + saltus a leaping, a springing, salire to leap. See {Assail}.]
1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town.
The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault. --Prescott.
Unshaken bears the assault Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwest. --Wordsworth.
2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government. --Clarendon.
3. (Law) An apparently violent attempt, or willful offer with force or violence, to do hurt to another; an attempt or offer to beat another, accompanied by a degree of violence, but without touching his person, as by lifting the fist, or a cane, in a threatening manner, or by striking at him, and missing him. If the blow aimed takes effect, it is a battery. --Blackstone. Wharton.
Practically, however, the word assault is used to include the battery. --Mozley & W.
Syn: Attack; invasion; incursion; descent; onset; onslaught; charge; storm.
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
assault
noun
1: close fighting during the culmination of a military attack
2: a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped
3: thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1946
4: the crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will [syn: {rape}, {violation}, {ravishment}]
verb
1: attack someone physically or emotionally; "The mugger assaulted the woman"; "Nightmares assailed him regularly" [syn: {assail}, {set on}, {attack}]
2: force (someone) to have sex against their will; "The woman was raped on her way home at night" [syn: {rape}, {ravish}, {violate}, {dishonor}, {dishonour}, {outrage}]
3: attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker" [syn: {attack}, {round}, {assail}, {lash out}, {snipe}]
From Moby Thesaurus II by Grady Ward, 1.0 [moby-thes]:
208 Moby Thesaurus words for "assault": abuse, aggravated assault, aggression, ambush, amphibious attack, armed assault, assail, assailing, assailment, attack, banzai attack, barbarize, batter, battering, battery, bear, bear upon, beat up, beating, berating, beset, bitter words, blackening, blitz, blitzkrieg, boost, breakthrough, bruise, brutalize, buck, bull, bulldoze, bump, bump against, bunt, burn, bushwhack, butcher, butchery, butt, butt against, carry on, censure, charge, citation, come at, come down on, contumely, counterattack, counteroffensive, coup de main, crack down on, cram, crippling attack, crowd, dead set at, descend on, descend upon, descent on, destroy, diatribe, dig, disorderliness, diversion, diversionary attack, drive, elbow, execration, fall on, fall upon, flank attack, force, forcible seizure, frontal attack, gang up on, gas attack, go at, go for, go on, goad, hammer, hard words, harm, harry, have at, head-on attack, hit, hit like lightning, hold-up, hurtle, hustle, implication, impugnment, incrimination, inculpation, incursion, infiltration, invasion, invective, involvement, jab, jam, jawing, jeremiad, jog, joggle, jolt, jostle, jump, killing, land on, lay at, lay hands on, lay into, lay waste, laying waste, light into, lightning attack, lightning war, loot, looting, mass attack, massacre, maul, megadeath, molest, molestation, mug, mugging, nudge, obstreperousness, offense, offensive, onset, onslaught, overkill, panzer warfare, philippic, pile drive, pillage, pillaging, pitch into, poke, pounce upon, pound, press, prod, punch, push, rage, raid, ram, ram down, ramp, rampage, rant, rape, rating, rattle, rave, revilement, riot, rioting, roar, ruin, run, run against, run at, rush, sack, sacking, sail into, sally, savage, screed, set on, set upon, shake, shock tactics, shoulder, shove, slaughter, smite, sortie, sow chaos, sowing with salt, storm, stress, strike, surprise, swoop down on, take the offensive, tamp, tear, tear around, terrorize, thrust, tirade, tongue-lashing, unprovoked assault, unruliness, vandalize, vilification, violate, violation, vituperation, wade into, wreck
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