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?

Assail comes from an Anglo-French verb, assaillir, which itself traces back to the Latin verb assilire ("to leap upon"). Assilire combines the prefix ad- ("to, toward") with the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Salire is the root of a number of English words related to jumping or 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 refer 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

Leaders of the college financial aid system assailed the Education Department over this year’s FAFSA debacle, warning that ongoing delays are extending institutions’ timelines for offering packages that many students’ decisions hinge on. —Haley Messenger, NBC News, 11 Apr. 2024

While garnering Oscar nominations for Best Picture and Best Director, the film was assailed for being too soft on both ends of the Israel/Palestine conflict — and for turning the thorny subject matter into a more palatable morality tale about the nature of violence. —Dennis Perkins, EW.com, 5 Apr. 2024

When a bipartisan deal emerged in the Senate, in February, Trump assailed it anyway. —Jonathan Blitzer, The New Yorker, 31 Mar. 2024

But the legislation was assailed by members of the House Freedom Caucus, the far-right bloc that has bedeviled its own party’s speakers for years, as a betrayal by Mr. Johnson, for both its content and the way it was handled. —Carl Hulse, New York Times, 23 Mar. 2024

Since then, new strains of flu have assailed the human race in the pandemics of 1957, 1968, and 2009. —Helen Branswell, STAT, 28 Mar. 2024

Those members assailed the deal passed Friday for not clearing the way for deeper spending cuts and GOP priorities on border and migrant policy. —Ken Tran, USA TODAY, 22 Mar. 2024

To generate financial support for their campaign, Council members assailed these women and their children as lazy and undeserving of aid and asserted that their removal would represent progress for the white community. —TIME, 21 Mar. 2024

For several days ahead of the election and even as Russians voted, Ukrainian drones assailed regions across the country, and pro-Ukrainian armed groups attempted incursions into the border regions of Belgorod and Kursk. —Yuliya Talmazan, NBC News, 18 Mar. 2024

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

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