assailment

as·sail

A a

Transcription

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [uh-seyl]
- /əˈseɪl/

- US Pronunciation
- US IPA
- [uh-seyl]
- /əˈseɪl/

Definitions of assailment word

verb with object assailment to attack vigorously or violently; assault. 1
verb with object assailment to attack with arguments, criticism, ridicule, abuse, etc.: to assail one's opponent with slander. 1
verb with object assailment to undertake with the purpose of mastering: He assailed his studies with new determination. 1
verb with object assailment to impinge upon; make an impact on; beset: His mind was assailed by conflicting arguments. The light assailed their eyes. 1
noun assailment (rare) An assault; an attack. 1

See all 5 definitions of assailment

Information block about the term

Origin of assailment

First appearance:

before 1175

One of the 8% oldest English words

1175-1225; Middle English asaylen < Old French asalir < Late Latin assalīre, equivalent to Latin as- as- + salīre to leap, spring

Historical Comparancy

Parts of speech for Assailment

noun

adjective

verb

adverb

pronoun

preposition

conjunction

determiner

exclamation

Full grammatical hierarchy of Assailment

assailment popularity

A common word. It’s meaning is known to most children of preschool age. About 93% of English native speakers know the meaning and use the word.

Most Europeans know this English word. The frequency of it’s usage is somewhere between "mom" and "screwdriver".

assailment usage trend in Literature

This diagram is provided by Google Ngram Viewer

Synonyms for assailment

noun assailment

aggression — Aggression is a quality of anger and determination that makes you ready to attack other people.
assault — An assault by an army is a strong attack made on an area held by the enemy.
charge — If you charge someone an amount of money, you ask them to pay that amount for something that you have sold to them or done for them.
invasion — an act or instance of invading or entering as an enemy, especially by an army.
offense — a violation or breaking of a social or moral rule; transgression; sin.

All 10 Synonyms of assailment