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
Banner is injured in a shootout, and several officers are killed before Lambert is able to intervene and take out the assailants with his rifle.
—
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Javonte had the uncanny ability to run at a level lower than his assailants while, at the same time, maintaining his feet, keeping his balance and not letting his knees scrape the turf.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
Examples of attacks include everything from graffiti and destruction of statues to arsonists destroying entire churches and assailants attacking churchgoers with deadly weapons.
—Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
The assailants are domestic extremists whose aim is to further an agenda of tyrants and oligarchs.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025
In 1865, Johnson was shot to death by unknown assailants at his home.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Mar. 2025
The Al-Watan newspaper said security forces had repelled an attack by unknown assailants on a checkpoint.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2025
The assailants, identified as Maurice Keenan and Robert Kelly, made off with $5 and a camera.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Many of her Black male friends offered to fight off her white assailants, but Wells believed this would only mean more Black widows and fatherless children.
—Amy Gais / Made By History, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
Allison Degrushe, Entertainment Weekly, 8 Sep. 2025
Javonte had the uncanny ability to run at a level lower than his assailants while, at the same time, maintaining his feet, keeping his balance and not letting his knees scrape the turf.
—Sean Keeler, Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2025
Examples of attacks include everything from graffiti and destruction of statues to arsonists destroying entire churches and assailants attacking churchgoers with deadly weapons.
—Robert Schmad, The Washington Examiner, 30 Aug. 2025
The assailants are domestic extremists whose aim is to further an agenda of tyrants and oligarchs.
—Sun Sentinel Editorial Board, Sun Sentinel, 21 Mar. 2025
In 1865, Johnson was shot to death by unknown assailants at his home.
—Alfredo Sosa, The Christian Science Monitor, 13 Mar. 2025
The Al-Watan newspaper said security forces had repelled an attack by unknown assailants on a checkpoint.
—Chantal Da Silva, NBC News, 10 Mar. 2025
The assailants, identified as Maurice Keenan and Robert Kelly, made off with $5 and a camera.
—Jordan Runtagh, People.com, 2 Mar. 2025
Many of her Black male friends offered to fight off her white assailants, but Wells believed this would only mean more Black widows and fatherless children.
—Amy Gais / Made By History, TIME, 27 Feb. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assailants
attackers
Noun
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Prosecutors describe the laws as an invaluable tool against would-be attackers, but civil liberties groups have long complained of overreach.—
Hannah Allam,
ProPublica,
10 Sep. 2025
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In several cases, attackers gained access through third-party tools, including unmanaged AI assistants, that stored sensitive prompts on external servers.—
Mark Doble,
Forbes.com,
9 Sep. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Assailants.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assailants. Accessed 16 Sep. 2025.
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