as in to assault
to take sudden, violent action against
without warning, bandits would set on unwary merchants as they traveled along the Silk Road
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
Recent Examples of Synonyms for set on
Verb
-
There are at least two amphibious ready groups — US Navy task forces for assaulting the shore from the sea.—
Jamie Tarabay,
Fortune,
15 Feb. 2026 -
Aljorna and Sosa-Celis denied assaulting the officer.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
14 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Mobs attacked television vans and set cars ablaze as overrun hospitals struggled to cope with scores of injured people.—
Rhea Mogul,
CNN Money,
6 Feb. 2026
-
The complication is not well understood but appears to be the result of the virus prompting the immune system to attack a certain protein that some brain cells produce.—
Meghan Bartels,
Scientific American,
5 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
During the war, Israeli forces raided a number of hospitals, detaining hundreds of staffers.—
Sam Mednick,
Los Angeles Times,
14 Feb. 2026
-
The report said a Plano property associated with a suspect in the investigation at the adult bookstore was also raided.—
Suryatapa Chakraborty,
Dallas Morning News,
13 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
Geneva led 43-34 at halftime, but Burlington Central stormed back to force a 49-49 tie on Wilson’s floater in the lane late in the third quarter.—
Rick Armstrong,
Chicago Tribune,
16 Feb. 2026
-
After straddling a gate in Run 2 of the slalom in Bormio, an emotional Atle Lie McGrath of Norway chucked his ski poles and laid down in the snow after storming off the Stelvio course.—
Isabel Yip,
NBC news,
16 Feb. 2026
Verb
-
In 2024, famine had struck five other areas in North Darfur and also Sudan's Nuba Mountains region.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
6 Feb. 2026
-
Three months ago, GE Vernova struck a $50 million partnership with MIT, covering research funding, graduate student fellowships, internships, and professional development programs for its own executives.—
Andrew Edgecliffe-Johnson,
semafor.com,
6 Feb. 2026
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.
Cite this Entry
“Set on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/set%20on. Accessed 19 Feb. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
