assail

verb

as·​sail ə-ˈsāl 

assailed; assailing; assails

transitive verb

1

: to attack violently : assault

The military has for years been developing offensive capabilities, giving it the power not just to defend the US but to assail its foes.

—James Bamford

2

: to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically

When a lazy man does make up his mind to assail a piece of work, he is like a dog with a bone.

—P. G. Wodehouse

3

: to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully

a proposal assailed by critics

… it is evident that Khrushchev was in trouble at home. The Chinese had also begun to assail him for being soft on the imperialists.

—Alexander Darlin

4

a

: to trouble or afflict in a manner that threatens to overwhelm

a man assailed by doubts/fears

… but now a terrible fear began to assail me.

—Bram Stoker

Many diseases stemming from bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections can assail human as well as canine systems.

—Tom Ewing

b

: to be perceived by (a person, a person's senses, etc.) in a strongly noticeable and usually unpleasant way

Here, too, is brought … all the waste stuff of the nation—everything that is subject to rot, and that can add to the foul stench that assails our nostrils.

—Edgar Rice Burroughs

assailable

ə-ˈsā-lə-bəl 

adjective

Did you know?

If you're assailed by doubts about the word assail, allow us to set your mind at ease by providing some surety. Assail comes, by way of Anglo-French, from the Latin verb assilire ("to leap upon"), which in turn comes from the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Salire is the root of a number of English words related to jumping and leaping, such as somersault and sally, as well as assault, a synonym of assail.) When assail was first used in the 13th century, it meant "to make a violent physical attack upon." By the early 15th century, English speakers were using the term to mean "to attack with words or arguments." Now the verb can apply to any kind of aggressive encounter, even if it is not necessarily violent or quarrelsome, as in "Upon entering the room, we were assailed by a horrible odor."

Synonyms

• abuse
• attack
• bash
• belabor
• blast
• castigate
• excoriate
• jump (on)
• lambaste
• lambast
• potshot
• savage
• scathe
• slam
• trash
• vituperate

Choose the Right Synonym for assail

attack, assail, assault, bombard, storm mean to make an onslaught upon.

attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle.

plan to attack the town at dawn

assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots.

assailed the enemy with artillery fire

assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught.

commandos assaulted the building from all sides

bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells.

bombarded the city nightly

storm implies attempting to break into a defended position.

preparing to storm the fortress

Examples of assail in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Trump had assailed Bezos and his companies during his first term. —Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 30 Apr. 2025

And why, in a moment of barbed stories assailing theatrical movie budgets and picture pickers, theatrical moviegoing’s future falls to its best artists, and the studio execs who bet on their big creative swings. —Mike Fleming Jr, Deadline, 8 Apr. 2025

Thousands of protesters in cities dotting the nation from Midtown Manhattan to Anchorage, Alaska, including at multiple state capitols, assailed Trump and billionaire Elon Musk ‘s actions on government downsizing, the economy, immigration and human rights. —Dave Collins, Twin Cities, 5 Apr. 2025

And, like the conservative Slavophile authors of that era who first formulated the nativist views that have resurged under Putin—such as the historian Mikhail Pogodin—Dugin assails the West and its values. —James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French assaillir, from Vulgar Latin *assalire, alteration of Latin assilire to leap upon, from ad- + salire to leap — more at sally

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for assail

• airmail
• avail
• bewail
• blackmail
• cattail
• cocktail
• curtail
• derail
• detail
• dovetail
• email
• entail

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Kids Definition

assail

verb

as·​sail ə-ˈsā(ə)l 

: to attack violently with blows or words

assailable

-ˈsā-lə-bəl 

adjective

assailant

-ˈsā-lənt 

noun