1
as in to bomb
to use bombs or artillery against the Allies bombarded Germany for a great many months during World War II

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to barrage
to attack with a rapid or overwhelming outpouring of many things at once reporters bombarded the company spokesman with sharp questions

Synonyms & Similar Words

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How does the verb bombard contrast with its synonyms?

Some common synonyms of bombard are assail, assault, attack, and storm. While all these words mean "to make an onslaught upon," bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells.

bombarded the city nightly

When is assail a more appropriate choice than bombard?

While the synonyms assail and bombard are close in meaning, assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots.

assailed the enemy with artillery fire

When could assault be used to replace bombard?

While in some cases nearly identical to bombard, assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught.

commandos assaulted the building from all sides

When might attack be a better fit than bombard?

The words attack and bombard can be used in similar contexts, but attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle.

plan to attack the town at dawn

When can storm be used instead of bombard?

The meanings of storm and bombard largely overlap; however, storm implies attempting to break into a defended position.

preparing to storm the fortress

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 bombard On the ground: Israeli jets bombarded the city of Khan Younis in southern Gaza yesterday in an attempt to kill Muhammad Sinwar, one of Hamas’s last remaining leaders in the enclave. Natasha Frost, New York Times, 14 May 2025 While space stations are relatively clean environments and are bombarded by higher doses of radiation than the surface of Earth, astronauts coming to and from space stations carry trillions of microscopic organisms with them. Andrew Jones, Space.com, 21 May 2025 Thousands of customers lost power during Monday’s thunderstorms after high winds and flash floods bombarded Missouri and Kansas in the afternoon. Pj Green, Kansas City Star, 20 May 2025 Nghe was one of more than a dozen people stationed at a highway checkpoint outside the village of Trang Bang on June 8, 1972, as 9-year-old Phan Thi Kim Phuc and other villagers were mistaken for the enemy and bombarded by the South Vietnamese air force. Oscar Holland, CNN Money, 19 May 2025 See All Example Sentences for bombard
Recent Examples of Synonyms for bombard
Verb
  • None of it happens if Torre doesn’t bomb the LSAT his senior year of college.
    Zak Keefer, New York Times, 30 May 2025
  • When the Japanese military bombed Pearl Harbor on Dec. 7, 1941, Toguri was trapped with no identification to secure a passage home.
    Kori Rumore, Chicago Tribune, 28 May 2025
Verb
  • Bellier-Beaumont pleaded for leniency, barraging the legal authorities with letters defending Edmond’s character.
    Jay Cheshes, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 May 2025
  • The update comes as Russia continues to barrage Ukraine with missile strikes three years into its full-scale invasion.
    Alexis Simendinger, The Hill, 17 Apr. 2025
Verb
  • The pathogen is known as Fusarium graminearum, which can attack wheat, barley, maize and rice and sicken livestock and people, the FBI said in a court filing in Detroit.
    Ed White, Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2025
  • After the quake evacuation, the inmates were still outside of the cells when a group suddenly attacked guards, seized their weapons, opened fire and fled, said Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan.
    Brittany Williams, Arkansas Online, 4 June 2025
Verb
  • When a storm is approaching, most evacuation orders are issued for areas where storm surge is a threat or for those near a body of water that is prone to flooding.
    Mallory Nicholls, The Orlando Sentinel, 27 May 2025
  • Severe storms with large hail, damaging wind gusts, flooding downpours and a few tornados will complicate Memorial Day travel in parts of the Southern Plains, Mid-South and Tennessee Valley, a National Weather Service (NWS) forecast said.
    Anna Skinner, MSNBC Newsweek, 26 May 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Bombard.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/bombard. Accessed 10 Jun. 2025.

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