1
as in assaulting
to take sudden, violent action against
our dog unexpectedly attacked the mailman, sinking his teeth into the startled man's leg
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slamming
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
the mayor and all his aides were attacked mercilessly in the press when the scandal erupted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tackling
to start work on energetically
Courtney attacked the huge mess in her room with determination and enthusiasm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of attacking
In addition, nine other suspects were arrested for allegedly attacking law enforcement officers over the summer during immigration enforcement operations in and around Los Angeles.
—
Louis Casiano , Matt Finn, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025
In June 2023, Smith was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a potentially rare and life-threatening bone infection that was attacking her lower vertebrae.
—Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
In July, Fokina found himself in a similar spot in the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open final against Alex De Minaur, attacking with a forehand up the line on match point.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Up north, hundreds of sea lions have been found on beaches in recent months suffering from a bacterial condition that is sickening and killing younger sea lions by attacking their kidneys, said John Warner, CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles in San Pedro.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
In 2018, for example, Lucas Pablo was convicted of assault for allegedly attacking an M2 Norteño member with a baseball bat during an gang initiation, records show.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Even before Musk started attacking Wikipedia, the site had become a punching bag for the tech right.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
Runs in-behind are up almost twofold in that time, while movements of left-backs attacking crosses has more than doubled.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
The first episode, which Andy directed, features three special effects-heavy sequences of monstrous incarnations attacking children.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025
Louis Casiano , Matt Finn, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2025
In June 2023, Smith was diagnosed with osteomyelitis, a potentially rare and life-threatening bone infection that was attacking her lower vertebrae.
—Alyssa Davis, PEOPLE, 29 Oct. 2025
In July, Fokina found himself in a similar spot in the 2025 Mubadala Citi DC Open final against Alex De Minaur, attacking with a forehand up the line on match point.
—Lev Akabas, Sportico.com, 29 Oct. 2025
Up north, hundreds of sea lions have been found on beaches in recent months suffering from a bacterial condition that is sickening and killing younger sea lions by attacking their kidneys, said John Warner, CEO of the Marine Mammal Care Center Los Angeles in San Pedro.
—Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Oct. 2025
In 2018, for example, Lucas Pablo was convicted of assault for allegedly attacking an M2 Norteño member with a baseball bat during an gang initiation, records show.
—Harry Harris, Mercury News, 29 Oct. 2025
Even before Musk started attacking Wikipedia, the site had become a punching bag for the tech right.
—Matteo Wong, The Atlantic, 28 Oct. 2025
Runs in-behind are up almost twofold in that time, while movements of left-backs attacking crosses has more than doubled.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 28 Oct. 2025
The first episode, which Andy directed, features three special effects-heavy sequences of monstrous incarnations attacking children.
—Andrew McGowan, Variety, 27 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attacking
Verb
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Booth was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree child abuse, assault and three counts of resisting, assaulting or obstructing police.—
Bonny Chu,
FOXNews.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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She was charged with first-degree murder, second-degree child abuse, felonious assault and assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, investigators said.—
Mike Stunson,
Kansas City Star,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Back in 1961, residents of Capitola woke up to find that hordes of black seabirds were slamming into cars, windows and people's homes and dying.—
Stephanie Sengwe,
PEOPLE,
25 Oct. 2025
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Ford said earlier that his province was spending $75 million to run ads in the United States slamming the impact of tariffs and featuring clips of Reagan.—
Shane Croucher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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The machines will run complex experiments that require an immense amount of data-crunching capacity, tackling problems ranging from nuclear power to cancer treatments, officials said Monday.—
Reed Albergotti,
semafor.com,
29 Oct. 2025
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Santos said there was no connection to global events Rio will host next week related to the United Nations COP30 climate summit, including the C40 global summit of mayors tackling climate change and British Prince William's Earthshot Prize.—
Janaina Quinet,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Under the administration of then-Mayor Michael Bloomberg, a 2008 crackdown on the area’s counterfeiters — with federal agents and police raiding 32 vendors selling knockoff luxury goods — led to $1 million worth of counterfeit goods being seized.—
Rosemary Feitelberg,
Footwear News,
22 Oct. 2025
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While many consider the mammal a nuisance for raiding garbage cans and damaging property, raccoons can also carry diseases, and they probably shouldn't be kept as housepets.—
Marina Johnson,
Louisville Courier Journal,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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This way of peering at screen culture from an inexact distance, which also comes up in a scolding scene where Ethan scrolls aimlessly through something like TikTok, rankles in a play that is otherwise so precise about physical time and space.—
Jackson McHenry,
Vulture,
31 Oct. 2025
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Like an impatient parent scolding their toddler, Frankenstein grows frustrated with his monster’s limited capacity for speech.—
Leah Dolan,
CNN Money,
17 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Sanchez, who was in Indianapolis for a Fox Sports appearance, was caught on video approaching the driver’s door of a large truck by a nearby hotel, according to a probable cause affidavit reviewed by EW.—
Emlyn Travis,
Entertainment Weekly,
29 Oct. 2025
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The current shutdown is fast approaching the record of 35 days, which was notched in early 2019 after starting in late 2018.—
Zach Halaschak,
The Washington Examiner,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Stines, 44, was allegedly caught on security video storming into Mullins’ chambers before shooting him in an alleged courthouse ambush that rattled the Appalachian community.—
Sarah Rumpf-Whitten,
FOXNews.com,
30 Oct. 2025
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Running for a full four-year term in 2026, the former chair of Florida’s Republican Party has used the same formula in barn-storming stops across Florida to argue that local governments should cut tax rates and shrink their budgets.—
Douglas Hanks,
Miami Herald,
24 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Ticketmaster is trying to address the lawsuit filed by the Federal Trade Commission with several moves intended to block scalpers from abusing the platform.—
Bethy Squires,
Vulture,
21 Oct. 2025
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In March, Virginia Giuffre accused her husband of abusing her and her family later told several media outlets that the couple were engaged in a custody battle.—
Mary Walrath-Holdridge,
USA Today,
20 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attacking. Accessed 2 Nov. 2025.
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