as in attackers
one who violently sets upon another
the darkness prevented me from getting a good look at my assailant
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Recent Examples of assailants
The assailants ambushed a police vehicle and killed one officer in Kohat, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
—
ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
Perez and three others — one armed with a gun — went looking for Smokey’s assailants.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
The assailants, some armed, also vandalized security cameras and a guard shack and slashed the tires of vehicles in the parking lot, authorities said.
—Kevin Krause, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
Investigators believe the assailants then killed Van Dyke and fled from the scene.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
Notably, one Coco robot ended up sleeping with the fishes last summer after it was apparently abducted by unknown assailants and dumped in a canal, according to a company report to the city.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The assailants, prosecutors allege, arrived in a sport utility vehicle in which two other people sat.
—Emerson Clarridge
updated February 6, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026
The university said the victim and the assailants know each other, and the assailants were guests of a male resident student.
—Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Bautista stabs and shoots his assailants in an operatic eruption of violence that is done in a single, extended shot.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 24 Feb. 2026
Perez and three others — one armed with a gun — went looking for Smokey’s assailants.
—Matthew Ormseth, Los Angeles Times, 19 Feb. 2026
The assailants, some armed, also vandalized security cameras and a guard shack and slashed the tires of vehicles in the parking lot, authorities said.
—Kevin Krause, Dallas Morning News, 18 Feb. 2026
Investigators believe the assailants then killed Van Dyke and fled from the scene.
—Thao Nguyen, USA Today, 17 Feb. 2026
Notably, one Coco robot ended up sleeping with the fishes last summer after it was apparently abducted by unknown assailants and dumped in a canal, according to a company report to the city.
—Robert Channick, Chicago Tribune, 9 Feb. 2026
The assailants, prosecutors allege, arrived in a sport utility vehicle in which two other people sat.
—Emerson Clarridge
updated February 6, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 7 Feb. 2026
The university said the victim and the assailants know each other, and the assailants were guests of a male resident student.
—Madeleine Wright, CBS News, 5 Feb. 2026
Bautista stabs and shoots his assailants in an operatic eruption of violence that is done in a single, extended shot.
—Brent Lang, Variety, 5 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assailants
attackers
Noun
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Perry opened the door to Figueroa's van, while the other two attackers opened the front and rear passenger side doors, prosecutors said.—
Shardaa Gray,
CBS News,
25 Feb. 2026
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Ten years after a woman was raped by two men in Tamarac, DNA evidence has led to the arrest of one of her attackers, the Broward Sheriff’s Office said Wednesday.—
Sofia Saric,
Miami Herald,
25 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Assailants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assailants. Accessed 3 Mar. 2026.
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