as in attack
an attack made to counter an enemy's attack
suddenly the tide of battle turned, and the rebels, who had been falling back, made a furious counterattack
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Recent Examples of counterattack
Benjamin Sesko took a simple pass from Bruno Fernandes to finish off a swift counterattack and assure the talismanic midfielder of his 19th assist of the season, a league high, and only one away from equalling the Premier League record.
—
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Reynolds, the field commander for the 1980s counterattack, was a wealthy corporate lawyer with minimal experience in discrimination law when Reagan named him to the civil rights job.
—Ronald Brownstein, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026
The View From Republicans The GOP’s counterattack started even before Spanberger won.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Samantha Santana finishes a shot from 15 yards out on a pass from Dylan Watson as the Texans take advantage of a counterattack to extend their lead.
—Colby Gordon, Austin American Statesman, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counterattack
ABC News, 27 Apr. 2026
Reynolds, the field commander for the 1980s counterattack, was a wealthy corporate lawyer with minimal experience in discrimination law when Reagan named him to the civil rights job.
—Ronald Brownstein, Twin Cities, 26 Apr. 2026
The View From Republicans The GOP’s counterattack started even before Spanberger won.
—David Weigel, semafor.com, 14 Apr. 2026
Samantha Santana finishes a shot from 15 yards out on a pass from Dylan Watson as the Texans take advantage of a counterattack to extend their lead.
—Colby Gordon, Austin American Statesman, 9 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for counterattack
Recent Examples of Synonyms for counterattack
Noun
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As the United States has escalated its attacks on Iran, there’s something pleasingly transgressive about bringing Iranian elements into such overtly Western music—so much so that the songs without Yaghmai’s playing seem a little subdued in comparison.—
Molly Mary O’Brien,
Pitchfork,
15 May 2026
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This one way attack drone is aimed at delivering affordable mass capabilities and is engineered for adaptability, and autonomous operations.—
Aditya Jadhav,
Interesting Engineering,
15 May 2026
Noun
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But, in a separate incident reported by Reuters, it was revealed that Musk did cut service in eastern Ukraine around the same time, crippling a planned Ukrainian counteroffensive in Kherson.—
Ben Tarnoff,
Big Think,
23 Apr. 2026
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In some ways, such jokes are a counteroffensive against Russian disinformation.—
Neringa Klumbytė,
The Conversation,
4 Mar. 2026
Noun
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Not coincidentally, Netanyahu’s coalition—which dominates the Knesset with a majority of sixty-four seats, out of a hundred and twenty—has renewed its legislative assault on the court.—
Bernard Avishai,
New Yorker,
18 May 2026
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Castro faces multiple second-degree felony assault charges involving a weapon and one count of falsely reporting a crime, a misdemeanor, according to a criminal complaint.—
Terry Collins,
USA Today,
18 May 2026
Cite this Entry
“Counterattack.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/counterattack. Accessed 20 May. 2026.
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