ASSAULTS Synonyms: 124 Similar and Opposite Words

assaults 1 of 2

noun

plural of assault

as in violations

the act of forcing a person to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse attended a class teaching women self-defense against assault

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Relevance

as in attacks

the act or action of setting upon with force or violence was arrested for his assault of the bystander

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assaults

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of assault

as in rapes

to engage in sexual activity and especially intercourse with a person unwilling or unable to give consent was registered as a sex offender after assaulting the victim

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as in raids

to take sudden, violent action against was found guilty of assaulting an officer enemy forces assaulted the city

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of assaults

Noun

Assaults are up, almost 2,500 assaults this year alone on police officers, felony assaults, and public servants in New York City. — Robert McGreevy, FOXNews.com, 20 Oct. 2026 Kansas City also ranked 176th in the assaults per capita metric, the fourth-lowest city in the metric. — Joseph Hernandez, Kansas City Star, 19 Oct. 2026 The White House decision has further raised fears that Ukraine could be left exposed to Moscow’s escalating assaults with winter approaching. — ABC News, 17 Oct. 2026 Cash reserves totaling $ 7,450,869 are being used to eviscerate his opponent with a vicious barrage of ad hominem assaults, thus giving him a 61 to 1 spending edge. — Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026 The attacks came as groups of Israeli settlers have stepped up their assaults on Palestinians in the West Bank. — Hadeel Al-Shalchi, NPR, 16 Oct. 2026 Officials noted that while domestic violence homicides and incident reports have decreased compared with last year, arrests, rape cases, assaults and major felony complaints have increased. — Kristie Keleshian, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026 Misdemeanor assaults have increased 16% in transit, to 1,304 from 1,120. — Rocco Parascandola, New York Daily News, 14 Oct. 2026 Karmy-Jones also claimed that after alleged assaults, Brand would pretend nothing had happened, often leaving abruptly or refusing to mention it again. — Ct Jones, Rolling Stone, 14 Oct. 2026

Verb

Anyone who assaults law enforcement will be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. — Christina Fan, CBS News, 7 June 2026 Any passenger who assaults, threatens, intimidates or interferes with airline crew members can lead to penalties of up to $43,658 per violation, according to the FAA. — Cindy Von Quednow, CNN Money, 3 May 2026 The Pios’ culture assaults the senses the moment players step onto campus. — Troy Renck, Denver Post, 13 Apr. 2026 The White House told ProPublica that anyone who assaults federal immigration agents would be prosecuted. — Nicole Foy, ProPublica, 18 Oct. 2025 The Kid also physically assaults Apollonia at one point. — Ross Raihala, Twin Cities, 17 Oct. 2025 Continue reading … SKY SCUFFLE – Passenger allegedly assaults Alaska Airlines crew members, forces emergency landing at Boise Airport. — FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for assaults

Noun

And unlike state authorities who can be sued for civil rights violations in state courts, federal law enforcement authorities are generally shielded from such lawsuits based on legal precedents.

— Philip Wang, Time, 19 Oct. 2026
Jackson was previously convicted of two counts of assault of a police officer and one count of carrying a pistol without a license and had three parole violations, the agency said.

— Greg Wehner, FOXNews.com, 19 Oct. 2026

Definition of violations

Noun

On three separate occasions in the past week, Ukraine didn’t receive early warnings about missile attacks.

— Claire Carter, The Washington Examiner, 21 Oct. 2026
The wide availability of low-cost, powerful open models is one reason Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has warned that open models in particular pose a risk of widespread and potentially devastating cyber attacks.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of attacks

Verb

In that film’s story, Insiang (Hilda Koronel) metes out revenge against Dado (Ruel Vernal), her hateful mother’s lover, who rapes her after rejecting his advances.

— Lé Baltar, IndieWire, 10 July 2026
Through these photos, Dominique Pelicot is not ‘just’ casting an incestuous gaze on me, as was said during the investigation and the Mazan rapes trial.

— TIME, Time, 7 Apr. 2026

Definition of rapes

Verb

In the character's final scene, as the DEA raids her rural compound, Laurie ties a rope around her neck and jumps from the roof of her home.

— Joey Nolfi, Entertainment Weekly, 1 June 2026
In the meantime, the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) finally raids Laurie's property, thanks to the intel Rue had been giving them.

— Kelly Lawler, USA Today, 1 June 2026

Definition of raids

Noun

Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses.

— ABC News, ABC News, 8 Oct. 2026
Only small offensives are possible Ukraine can conduct localized offensives but not enough to shift the broader battlefield balance, despite mounting Russian losses.

— Samya Kullab, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of offensives

Verb

The civil case seeks judicial review to override the council’s decision, which attorneys for the church argue was wrongly made, oversteps city authority and violates the Cathedral’s First Amendment rights to freely practice religion.

— Mark Dee, Idaho Statesman, 22 Oct. 2026
Sponsor reserves the right to disqualify any entrant that tampers with the operation of the Competition or website or violates the Official Rules of the Competition.

— CBS News, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of violates

Noun

In fact, reported evidence suggests this software commitment (from a company making its revenue from hardware) has been crucial to Nvidia’s success in fending off onslaughts from other hardware vendors such as Intel.

— Nisha Talagala, Forbes.com, 28 Aug. 2026
Ukraine has been largely helpless in similar Russian onslaughts in recent weeks.

— Tom Bowman, NPR, 4 Aug. 2026