1
as in to attack
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
the union organizers assailed the chemical company for failing to provide a safe working environment
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in to assault
to take sudden, violent action against
the small birds assailed the larger one that had threatened their nest
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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of assail
And a victory in the sixth-largest state would continue to provide him a credible, high-profile platform from which to assail the actions of the Trump administration nationally in the run-up to the 2028 presidential election.
—
Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
Their grief and their rage are nearly untranslatable, as though feelings in extremity can only be physical sensations—the language assails one with a blind and blunt force.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Trump has portrayed the legal reprieves as the unraveling of an era of political prosecutions steered by former President Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ), which Trump assailed as weaponized against him while marred by his own legal troubles.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 1 Feb. 2025
Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion, to which Alito also attached his name, and assailed the court majority for refusing to hear Alabama's case.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assail
Rick Pearson, Chicago Tribune, 24 Mar. 2025
Their grief and their rage are nearly untranslatable, as though feelings in extremity can only be physical sensations—the language assails one with a blind and blunt force.
—Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 23 Mar. 2025
Trump has portrayed the legal reprieves as the unraveling of an era of political prosecutions steered by former President Biden’s Department of Justice (DOJ), which Trump assailed as weaponized against him while marred by his own legal troubles.
—Ella Lee, The Hill, 1 Feb. 2025
Thomas wrote a dissenting opinion, to which Alito also attached his name, and assailed the court majority for refusing to hear Alabama's case.
—Faisal Kutty, Newsweek, 11 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assail
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assail
Verb
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Korematsu was just 22 years old and working hard to expand his family’s flower nursery outside San Francisco when the Japanese attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.—
Lauren Stienstra,
Time,
17 Apr. 2025
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Every American should reject the president's and his cronies' illegitimate use of government power to attack his enemies.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
17 Apr. 2025
Verb
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According to the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office, Brittany Walker and Samuel Payton allegedly assaulted the victim, a 44-year-old man who uses a wheelchair, in a Detroit apartment on Jan. 29, FOX 2 Detroit reported.—
Bailey Richards,
People.com,
28 Apr. 2025
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After speaking to witnesses and reviewing video surveillance, investigators found that three men allegedly assaulted the cab driver and stole his personal belongings after refusing to pay their fare, Podgorski said.—
Justin Muszynski,
Hartford Courant,
26 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The White House was reprimanded: A federal judge scolded the Trump administration for failing to try to return the man.—
Cate Martel,
The Hill,
16 Apr. 2025
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At the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt scolded reporters for not understanding the president’s plans.—
Chris Megerian,
Chicago Tribune,
10 Apr. 2025
Verb
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His home was raided on August 5, 2024, where FBI agents found no evidence of the drug itself but did seize electronic items and demanded Reister take a urine test.—
Thomas G. Moukawsher,
MSNBC Newsweek,
25 Apr. 2025
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Though Tut ruled for only a short time, this tomb was well concealed and, unlike most others, wasn’t raided.—
Bailey Berg,
AFAR Media,
25 Apr. 2025
Verb
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However, prosecutors allege that a drunk and angry Read knowingly slammed her SUV into her boyfriend -- Boston police officer John O'Keefe -- outside of a get-together at another officer's home and left him to die in a blizzard in January 2022.—
Jon Haworth,
ABC News,
23 Apr. 2025
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The estate's lawsuit said Clyde Leach’s Tesla Model Y suddenly accelerated, went off the road and slammed into a pillar at an Ohio gas station.—
Mike Scarcella,
USA Today,
23 Apr. 2025
Verb
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The scalloped edges strike again in this rattan tray, which can hold decorative items like an oversized knot sculpture or serve as a mini drink station in your home office—something Open Door alum Kathy Hilton once suggested to her daughter Paris. .—
Blake Bakkila,
Architectural Digest,
21 Apr. 2025
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said if Russia is genuinely ready to observe a full and unconditional ceasefire, Ukraine will mirror that approach and strike only in defense.—
Arkansas Online,
Arkansas Online,
20 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Such is the case with this 15-minute fictionalized short inspired by the traumatic aftermath of a real event — when a group of Proud Boys in 2022 stormed a Drag Queen Story Hour program at the East Bay’s San Lorenzo Library and proceeded to hurl gay and transphobic slurs there.—
Randy Myers,
Mercury News,
16 Apr. 2025
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Soon after Noboa took office in 2023, the country suffered back-to-back emergencies: a notorious gang leader escaped from prison; days later, a band of gunmen stormed a major TV station and took the staff hostage.—
Max Saltman,
CNN Money,
11 Apr. 2025
Verb
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Los Angeles jewelry store Love Jewels was robbed of around $20 million worth of jewelry during a daring heist on Sunday, April 13.—
Charna Flam,
People.com,
16 Apr. 2025
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The synagogue isn’t a wholly random place for Hampton to be asked to rob.—
Daniel Fienberg,
HollywoodReporter,
15 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Assail.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assail. Accessed 1 May. 2025.
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