descending (on or upon)

verb

present participle of descend (on or upon)
as in attacking
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 descending (on or upon)
  1. attacking
  2. raiding
  3. assaulting
  4. storming
  5. setting on
  6. striking
Verb
  • Researchers constructed a hollow fiber membrane lined on the outside with palladium nanoparticles rather than attacking PFAS in open water.
    — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026
  • Broward Sheriff’s Office detectives are seeking the public’s help finding a woman accused of attacking a North Lauderdale store clerk with pepper spray earlier this month.
    — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 19 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • An increasing number of Americans are raiding their retirement funds to tackle debt.
    — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Preventing undesirable baboon behaviour, like raiding food, is easier than trying to tackle it once it’s become engrained.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of raiding
Verb
  • Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.
    — Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Selma Blair pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer and nurse after a Delta Air Lines incident.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • The Gators were storming up the rankings behind first-year coach Jon Sumrall and igniting the chomp in the Swamp.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • There’s not a single version that doesn’t end with Tommy storming out of the room.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of storming
Verb
  • Meanwhile, forward Brad Marchand (lower-body surgery) practiced in a group setting on Wednesday for the first time this training camp.
    — Jordan McPherson, Miami Herald, 23 Sep. 2026
  • Ring will roll out the new encryption as the default security setting on all of its cameras starting in September.
    — Clare Duffy, CNN Money, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of setting on
Verb
  • The bullet pierced the rear passenger window of Irvine’s car, striking him in the right shoulder and causing his death.
    — Kelsie Cairns , Maria Paronich, FOXNews.com, 23 Oct. 2026
  • Gibson also said the city should consider how many collisions involve cars striking e-bicyclists and e-scooter riders.
    — Madison Smalstig, Sacbee.com, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of striking
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.

Browse Nearby Words

descending
descending (on or upon)
descend (on or upon)
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Cite this Entry

“Descending (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/descending%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

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