as in to assault
to take sudden, violent action against
the muggers pounced on the unsuspecting tourists as soon as they rounded the corner
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for pounce (on or upon)
Verb
-
After a local teenager was accused of assaulting a white woman, however, white men massacred its citizens, and burned the neighborhood to the ground in one of the most violent episodes in modern American history.—
Meagan Jordan,
Rolling Stone,
15 June 2025 -
Thousands have attended those protests, during which roughly 100 people were arrested for blocking streets, resisting arrest and assaulting police officers.—
Emma Seiwell,
New York Daily News,
14 June 2025
Verb
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In a May 2, 2017 text, Ventura was clear with Khorram that Combs allegedly attacked her.—
Rolling Stone,
Rolling Stone,
16 June 2025
-
Even after December 7, 1941, when Japan attacked some of the territories that McKinley had claimed—Hawaii, the Philippines, and Guam—people from Kansas or California didn’t necessarily see any reason to don uniforms.—
Daniel Immerwahr,
New Yorker,
16 June 2025
Verb
-
Immigration authorities, wearing bulletproof vests and other tactical gear, recently raided a popular San Diego Italian restaurant.—
Joey Garrison,
USA Today,
13 June 2025
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Court revives suit over wrong-house raid WASHINGTON -- An Atlanta family whose home was wrongly raided by the FBI will get a new day in court, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Thursday.—
Democrat-Gazette Staff From Wire Reports,
Arkansas Online,
13 June 2025
Verb
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The victim had just entered the Kings Highway Q train station in Midwood when the stranger, who was walking with a cane, stormed up and started cursing at her about 12:45 p.m. June 12.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
17 June 2025
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Ukrainian delegates stormed out of the European Youth Event in protest following a speech delivered by Dasha Navalnaya, daughter of the late Russian opposition figure Alexei Navalny.—
Isabel van Brugen,
MSNBC Newsweek,
16 June 2025
Verb
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The air force also struck a nuclear weapons development site in the area of Natanz.—
NBC News,
NBC news,
20 June 2025
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Experts and citizens say that the government was most likely throttling internet access to prevent people from sharing information about where Israel had struck and for fear of Israeli cyberattacks.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Pounce (on or upon).” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/pounce%20%28on%20or%20upon%29. Accessed 24 Jun. 2025.
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