assailant

noun

as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt 

plural assailants

: a person who attacks someone violently

an assault by an unknown assailant

She could identify the assailant and his two accomplices, and she wanted to press charges.

—Jennifer Baumgardner

Detectives speculated that she may have been punched on the chin, perhaps knocked unconscious by her assailant.

—Joseph Wambaugh

Synonyms of assailant

• attacker
• assaulter

Examples of assailant in a Sentence

the darkness prevented me from getting a good look at my assailant

Recent Examples on the Web

As the envoy leaves the British royal residence to fly back to the US, President Penn gets shot by an unknown assailant. — Emily Zemler, Condé Nast Traveler, 16 Oct. 2026

Authorities found the assailant dead inside the school minutes after the shooting was first reported, Bend Police Chief Mike Krantz said. — Alanna Durkin Richer, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026

Then in 1989, an assailant attacked an elementary school in Stockton, California, using an assault rifle to kill five people and wound 29, prompting public outcry and calls to restrict such weapons. — Robert Spitzer, The Conversation, 8 Oct. 2026

Greene-Placentia said she was attacked, subdued and then woke up to find that she was being raped by an unknown assailant. — ABC News, 7 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for assailant

• covalent
• divalent
• inhalant
• hexavalent
• monovalent
• multivalent
• pentavalent
• polyvalent
• tetravalent
• univalent

Legal Definition

assailant

noun

as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt 

: a person who commits criminal assault