Synonyms of attacks

attacks 1 of 2

noun

plural of attack

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

• assaults
• raids
• offensives
• onslaughts
• offenses
• strikes
• aggressions
• attempts
• bombardments
• counterattacks
• rushes
• incursions
• onsets
• blitzes
• invasions
• bombings
• charges
• ambushes
• blitzkriegs
• barrages
• coups de main
• descents
• sieges
• counteroffensives
• ambuscades
• sorties
• counterstrikes
• forays
• sallies
• ravages
• breakthroughs
• air raids
• envelopments
• volleys
• counterassaults
• sacks
• storms
• fusillades
• salvos
• counteraggressions
• cannonades
• pillages
• hails
• whammies

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• defenses
• shields
• guards
• resistances
• oppositions
• defensives
• securities
• protections
• shelters

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

• bouts
• seizures
• cases
• spells
• sieges
• accesses
• pangs
• fits
• spasms
• turns
• relapses
• recurrences
• convulsions
• breakdowns
• agitations
• frenzies
• paroxysms
• collapses
• throes
• eclampsias
• brainstorms
• prostrations

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• arrests
• reliefs
• remissions

attacks

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of attack

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

• assaults
• raids
• storms
• strikes
• ambushes
• charges
• robs
• swarms
• turns (on)
• descends (on or upon)
• rushes
• assails
• invades
• jumps (on)
• besets
• sets at
• sets upon
• sets on
• rounds on
• flies at
• goes in (on)
• tears into
• bombs
• pounces (on or upon)
• pitches into
• beats up on
• goes at
• trashes
• bushwhacks
• surprises
• sics
• lights into
• flanks
• mobs
• besieges
• sacks
• ravages
• waylays
• barrages
• blitzes
• nukes
• bombards
• plunders
• gangs up (on)
• cannons
• loots
• batters
• forays
• ambuscades
• buffets
• mugs
• bum-rushes
• pillages
• beleaguers
• cannonades
• harries
• overruns
• plasters
• presses
• envelops
• bangs away (at)

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protects
• shields
• covers
• defends
• secures
• guards

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

• slams
• abuses
• insults
• scolds
• blasts
• criticizes
• savages
• assails
• jumps (on)
• curses
• excoriates
• bashes
• ties into
• vituperates
• potshots
• sails into
• harasses
• scathes
• lambastes
• castigates
• trashes
• belabors
• affronts
• beats up on
• reviles
• berates
• harangues
• harries
• slurs
• reprimands
• blasphemes
• lights into
• slanders
• execrates
• disparages
• libels
• belittles
• profanes
• vilifies
• rebukes
• whips
• imprecates
• fulminates
• asperses
• chastises
• bad-mouths
• chides
• lashes (out)
• laces (into)
• blackguards
• traduces
• puts down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• praises
• commends
• hails
• compliments
• lauds
• acclaims

3

as in approaches

to start work on energetically

Courtney attacked the huge mess in her room with determination and enthusiasm

Synonyms & Similar Words

• approaches
• tackles
• has at
• dives (into)
• undertakes
• addresses
• tears into
• wades (in or into)
• pursues
• sails into
• falls (to)
• pitches into
• goes at
• focuses (on)
• settles (down)
• concentrates (on)
• buckles (down to)
• faces
• lights into
• plunges (in)
• knuckles down (to)
• pitches in
• zeroes (in on)
• takes up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• evades
• avoids
• shuns
• plays
• lags
• fools
• pokes
• messes
• fiddles (around)
• trifles
• monkeys (around)
• putters (around)
• dawdles
• idles
• dallies
• potters (around)
• dillydallies

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of attacks

Noun

Monday's attacks on a shelter and former school with bunker-busting bombs came as people were lined up for aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region. — Arkansas Online, 4 Nov. 2026

Russia ramped up its aerial attacks on towns and cities across the country over the summer, striking at all times of the day. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 3 Nov. 2026

Tensions between Israel and militant group Hezbollah ratcheted up in 2023 when the latter intensified attacks along Israel’s northern border in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attacks on the south of the country. — Melanie Goodfellow, Deadline, 3 Nov. 2026

Monday’s attacks on a shelter and former school with bunker-busting bombs came as people were lined up for aid in Komyshuvakha, a village in the Zaporizhzhia region. — Derek Gatopoulos, Chicago Tribune, 3 Nov. 2026

Nowhere in it, though, does Microsoft warn that the patches released to date do nothing to protect customers from Baton Drop attacks. — Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 3 Nov. 2026

But Russian attacks on Black Sea shipping have sharply reduced traffic through Ukraine’s deep-water ports just as farmers need cash to prepare for the next planting season. — ABC News, 3 Nov. 2026

And some of the attacks were explicitly racist, including posts using the N-word. — Dan Zaksheske Outkick, FOXNews.com, 3 Nov. 2026

To justify a top-down overhaul, some have levied sweeping attacks, rhetoric and clear exaggerations against the traditional system. — Eric Wargotz, Baltimore Sun, 3 Nov. 2026

Verb

At the same time, in the real world, Lisa wakes up and attacks Thomas and Paladin, using her new, uh, nanobot powers? — Tasha Robinson, Vulture, 4 Nov. 2026

Psoriatic arthritis is a chronic (long-term) autoimmune condition in which your immune system attacks healthy tissues, causing joint pain, swelling, and stiffness. — Health Editorial Team, HEALTH, 3 Nov. 2026

Republican rival Rick Jackson has spent heavily portraying Bottoms’ Atlanta mayoralty as a failure, focusing on crime and 2020 protests — attacks some supporters say carry racial and gender overtones. — Bill Barrow, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2026

Back in 2023, Stevens revealed he was diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome—a rare auto-immune disorder in which the body’s immune system attacks the nerves—and was working to relearn how to walk and use his hands. — Nina Corcoran, Pitchfork, 27 Oct. 2026

But in about 1 out of every 200 infections globally, the virus attacks the nerves that control muscles, usually in the legs. — Katrine L. Wallace, The Conversation, 26 Oct. 2026

The medicine is an individualized therapy that attacks the unique mutations, called neoantigens, found in a patient’s tumor. — Andrew Joseph, STAT, 22 Oct. 2026

She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, a chronic disease in which the immune system attacks the central nervous system, disrupting communication between the brain and the rest of the body. — Jasmine Arenas, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026

Blair revealed in 2018 that she had been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, an autoimmune disorder that attacks healthy cells in the central nervous system, according to the National Institutes of Health. — Meriam Bouarrouj, NBC news, 16 Oct. 2026