as in to attack
to take sudden, violent action against
the shock troops descended on the village without warning
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for descend (on or upon)
Verb
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In severe cases, the virus can attack parts of the brain that control basic life functions like eye movement, heart rate and blood pressure, causing permanent damage.—
Michal Ruprecht,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026 -
Ukraine's air force said that Russia attacked overnight with one ballistic missile and 146 strike drones, 103 of which were shot down or destroyed using electronic warfare.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
29 Jan. 2026
Verb
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The suspect beat the victim with a construction sign and then continued to assault the victim using the victim's bicycle.—
Jeramie Bizzle,
CBS News,
12 Jan. 2026
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Citizens have had their front doors blown out, been hit with pepper balls for praying outside government facilities, been wrongfully charged with assaulting agents, and have seen their identification papers dismissed as fake and thus grounds for detainment.—
Gustavo Arellano,
Los Angeles Times,
11 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In one of the largest mass abductions targeting religious worship centers in the West African nation in recent months, the attackers on Sunday raided three different churches in Kaduna state's Kajuru council area, seizing 177 people before 11 managed to escape.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
23 Jan. 2026
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Home Depots were raided, and people were disappeared off the streets.—
Ruby Cramer,
New Yorker,
23 Jan. 2026
Verb
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During an earlier news conference, Beshear said state investigators were looking into three weekend deaths that were possibly storm related.—
Leo Bertucci,
Louisville Courier Journal,
26 Jan. 2026
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An anti-ICE protest outside a Minneapolis hotel turned violent Sunday night, with some smashing windows and throwing bottles as federal officers fought to keep them from storming inside.—
Nick Ferraro,
Twin Cities,
26 Jan. 2026
Verb
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In about two-thirds of patients, the disease rapidly progresses, and coma can strike within five to seven days.—
Michal Ruprecht,
CNN Money,
30 Jan. 2026
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The only viable explanation is that an even higher-energy particle — a more stable one — must have struck the upper atmosphere of the Earth and produced a particle shower, where those decaying particles led to the presence of these muons.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
30 Jan. 2026
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Cite this Entry
“Descend (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descend%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 31 Jan. 2026.
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