1
as in assaults
the act or action of setting upon with force or violence
The USS Constitution was nicknamed "Old Ironsides" after its oaken hull successfully withstood a British attack
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in bouts
a sudden experiencing of a physical or mental disorder
malaria is characterized by periodic attacks of chills and fever
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
1
as in raids
to take sudden, violent action against
our dog unexpectedly attacked the mailman, sinking his teeth into the startled man's leg
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slams
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 approaches
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 attacks
Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a large portion of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal was destroyed during the first hours of the aerial attacks.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
The move comes amid escalating Russian attacks using waves of Shahed-136 drones and missile salvos meant to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2025
Stories spread, especially of how White House employees didn’t protect her against media attacks despite having the ability to do so.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Pelosi backed the committee’s conclusion that the intelligence community never had specific intelligence that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks but balked at supporting Bush’s preparations to invade Iraq.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Emboldened white men no longer wore masks and increasingly carried out daylight attacks on African Americans.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Matthew and Christina were both in critical condition following the shooting, their family said in a GoFundMe set up immediately after the attacks.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Long forward passes in transition are common, rather than expansive, intricate attacks.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Alison Herman, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
For this new study in particular, the researchers focused on the 5FU, which often both fails to reach cancer cells efficiently and attacks healthy tissue—causing side effects like nausea, fatigue and, in rare cases, even heart failure.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues, rather than targeting the bad bacteria and viruses, causing inflammation that can affect the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
The progressive disease attacks nerve cells that control muscles, robbing people of their ability to walk, talk and eventually breathe.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease (typically arising in younger people) that occurs when your immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin, leaving you with little to no insulin at all, per NIDDK.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Blashill wants the Blackhawks to be a fast-pressure team at both ends of the rink, one that attacks vertically but never cheats for offense.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
When bitten by the southern black widow, the spider’s venom attacks the nerve endings in muscles that can cause severe pain and muscle cramps at the source of the bite, which can then spread throughout the body.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 31 Oct. 2025
Some people worry that flu shots increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a serious but rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
—Liz Szabo, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2025
Noun
This mountainous region is known for its lush forests, lakes and valleys – and for being a hotspot for this year’s deadly bear attacks in Japan.
—Jessie Yeung, CNN Money, 7 Nov. 2025
Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said a large portion of Iran's ballistic missile arsenal was destroyed during the first hours of the aerial attacks.
—MSNBC Newsweek, 6 Nov. 2025
The move comes amid escalating Russian attacks using waves of Shahed-136 drones and missile salvos meant to overwhelm Ukrainian air defenses.
—Kaif Shaikh, Interesting Engineering, 6 Nov. 2025
Stories spread, especially of how White House employees didn’t protect her against media attacks despite having the ability to do so.
—Emma Burleigh, Fortune, 6 Nov. 2025
Pelosi backed the committee’s conclusion that the intelligence community never had specific intelligence that could have prevented the 9/11 attacks but balked at supporting Bush’s preparations to invade Iraq.
—Philip Elliott, Time, 6 Nov. 2025
Emboldened white men no longer wore masks and increasingly carried out daylight attacks on African Americans.
—Equal Justice Initiative, USA Today, 6 Nov. 2025
Matthew and Christina were both in critical condition following the shooting, their family said in a GoFundMe set up immediately after the attacks.
—Samira Asma-Sadeque, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
Long forward passes in transition are common, rather than expansive, intricate attacks.
—Liam Tharme, New York Times, 31 Oct. 2025
Verb
Berkley’s dies by suicide by jumping off a balcony outside their office window; Simpson’s goes crazy and attacks her ex with sulfuric acid.
—Alison Herman, Variety, 4 Nov. 2025
For this new study in particular, the researchers focused on the 5FU, which often both fails to reach cancer cells efficiently and attacks healthy tissue—causing side effects like nausea, fatigue and, in rare cases, even heart failure.
—Hannah Millington, MSNBC Newsweek, 4 Nov. 2025
Lupus is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks healthy tissues, rather than targeting the bad bacteria and viruses, causing inflammation that can affect the joints, skin, kidneys, blood cells, brain, heart, and lungs.
—Madison E. Goldberg, PEOPLE, 4 Nov. 2025
The progressive disease attacks nerve cells that control muscles, robbing people of their ability to walk, talk and eventually breathe.
—Kelly Meyerhofer, jsonline.com, 4 Nov. 2025
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease (typically arising in younger people) that occurs when your immune system attacks the cells in the pancreas that are responsible for producing insulin, leaving you with little to no insulin at all, per NIDDK.
—Caroline C. Boyle, USA Today, 3 Nov. 2025
Blashill wants the Blackhawks to be a fast-pressure team at both ends of the rink, one that attacks vertically but never cheats for offense.
—Mark Lazerus, New York Times, 2 Nov. 2025
When bitten by the southern black widow, the spider’s venom attacks the nerve endings in muscles that can cause severe pain and muscle cramps at the source of the bite, which can then spread throughout the body.
—Madison Dapcevich, Outside, 31 Oct. 2025
Some people worry that flu shots increase the risk of Guillain-Barre syndrome, a serious but rare disorder in which the immune system attacks nerve cells, causing muscle weakness and sometimes paralysis.
—Liz Szabo, NBC news, 25 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attacks
Noun
-
Miller was convicted of assaults on women aged 56, 68 and 22.—
City News Service,
Oc Register,
8 Nov. 2025
-
According to his application, the assaults occurred between 2010 and 2023.—
Verónica Egui Brito,
Miami Herald,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
The outperformance is a return to form for Apple, whose cash-generating prowess and rock-solid balance sheet have in past bouts of turbulence left it relatively unscathed.—
Bloomberg,
Mercury News,
7 Nov. 2025
-
On the Amazon Prime Video postgame recap of the Lakers-Grizzlies clash, former six-time All-Star power forward Blake Griffin took umbrage with Morant's occasional mid-game bouts with apathy.—
Alex Kirschenbaum,
MSNBC Newsweek,
5 Nov. 2025
Verb
-
The episode sees Marge revisit her nostalgia for a Dawson's Creek-esque '90s teen drama as Lisa raids her mom's closet for vintage threads with the help of fashion-forward classmates Devin (Cole Escola) and Vidalia (Stephanie Hsu).—
Wesley Stenzel,
Entertainment Weekly,
28 Sep. 2025
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Appalachian State’s victory at Michigan in 2007 remains the greatest example of what can happen when a good FCS team walks into your house and raids the fridge, and everything else, but leaves the dog.—
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
12 Sep. 2025
Verb
-
Scientists have always assumed that when this stellar ejecta violently slams into dense gas surrounding the dying star, known as the circumstellar medium, this generates narrow emission lines in the light or spectra seen from Type II supernovas.—
Robert Lea,
Space.com,
30 Oct. 2025
-
Jamaica reels after Hurricane Melissa slams into the island, severely damaging roads and hospitals.—
Christian Orozco,
NBC news,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
During another episode this season, a man approaches Angela at a party and tells her that her husband cheated on her.—
MSNBC Newsweek,
MSNBC Newsweek,
10 Nov. 2025
-
By modeling the physics behind this phenomenon, researchers discovered that the human hand’s sensitivity approaches the theoretical limit of what can be detected through mechanical reflections.—
Aamir Khollam,
Interesting Engineering,
7 Nov. 2025
Noun
-
There’s something rare about Swain, who is a young brainiac, but one who has built his business the old-fashioned, pre-quant-trading and Excel models Wall Street way, via charm offensives that weave webs of tight relationships few rivals can match.—
Shawn Tully,
Fortune,
1 Nov. 2025
-
Since October 2023, Israel's ground and air offensives in Gaza have displaced more than 2 million people and killed more than 68,500 Palestinians, according to the AP.—
Mandy Taheri,
MSNBC Newsweek,
26 Oct. 2025
Noun
-
Rain placed her body on top of River to try and stop his seizures.—
Lynsey Eidell,
PEOPLE,
31 Oct. 2025
-
The investigation stems from two prior drug trafficking seizures earlier this month, the DA’s office said.—
Grace Zokovitch,
Boston Herald,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
-
Over the last decade, a slew of studies have found strong evidence that climate change makes stronger, wetter storms more powerful.—
Alex Harris,
Miami Herald,
5 Nov. 2025
-
Koko storms off and spends the rest of the evening moping about the interaction.—
Jihan Forbes,
Allure,
29 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attacks.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attacks. Accessed 11 Nov. 2025.
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