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
Jennifer BaumgardnerDetectives speculated that she may have been punched on the chin, perhaps knocked unconscious by her assailant.—Joseph Wambaugh
Joseph WambaughExamples of assailant in a Sentence
the darkness prevented me from getting a good look at my assailant
Recent Examples on the Web
Isabel Campoy also fell victim to the fury assailant.
—Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Kimmel’s September 15 monologue accused MAGA supporters of distorting the shooter’s motives, despite reports that the assailant leaned left politically.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
After the Antioch School shooting in January 2025, Nashville's school district said that a new AI weapons detection system, called Omnilert, failed to detect the gun used by an assailant who shot and killed two students.
—Tonya Simpson, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
The assailant, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a sniper team.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assailant
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Christopher Cann, USA Today, 25 Sep. 2025
Kimmel’s September 15 monologue accused MAGA supporters of distorting the shooter’s motives, despite reports that the assailant leaned left politically.
—Amanda Castro, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
After the Antioch School shooting in January 2025, Nashville's school district said that a new AI weapons detection system, called Omnilert, failed to detect the gun used by an assailant who shot and killed two students.
—Tonya Simpson, ABC News, 24 Sep. 2025
The assailant, Thomas Matthew Crooks, was shot and killed by a sniper team.
—Ted Johnson, Deadline, 23 Sep. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assailant
Cite this Entry
“Assailant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assailant. Accessed 2 Oct. 2025.
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assailant
noun
as·sail·ant
ə-ˈsā-lənt
: a person who commits criminal assault
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