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assault Definition

as·sault (ə sôlt′)

noun

  1. a violent attack, either physical or verbal
  2. rape
  3. Law an unlawful threat or unsuccessful attempt to do physical harm to another, causing a present fear of immediate harm
  4. Mil.
    1. a sudden attack upon a fortified place
    2. the close-combat phase of an attack

Etymology: ME assaut < OFr assaut, assalt < VL *assaltus < assalire: see assail

transitive verb, intransitive verb

to make an assault (upon)

adjective

designating a rifle or other firearm, either automatic or semiautomatic, designed especially for military use

assault Related Forms

as·saul′·tive adjective

assault Synonyms

assault

n.

  1. An attack

    charge, advance, onslaught; see attack 1.

  2. A physical attack on another person

    attack, mugging, assault and battery, rape; see crime 2, rape.

assault Synonyms

assault

v.

  1. To attack

    attack, assail, set upon, strike; see attack 1, 2.

  2. To rape

    attack, violate, ravish; see rape. See syn. study atattack.

assault Law Definition

n

v

  1. In criminal and tort law, an act, usually consisting of a threat or attempt to inflict bodily injury upon another person, coupled with the apparent present ability to succeed in carrying out the threat or the attempt if not prevented, that causes the person to have a reasonable fear or apprehension of immediate harmful or offensive contact. No intent to cause battery or the fear or apprehension is required so long as the victim is placed in reasonable apprehension or fear. No actual physical injury is needed to establish an assault, but if there is any physical contact, the act constitutes both an assault and a battery.
  2. In criminal law, in some states, the term includes battery and attempted battery.
  3. Any attack .
  4. The act of inflicting bodily injury upon another. See also mayhem.
aggravated assault
A criminal assault accompanied by circumstances that make it more severe, such as the victim’s suffering serious bodily injury or an assault committed with a dangerous and deadly weapon. The additional circumstances that make the act an aggravated assault are set by statute.
sexual assault
  1. Rape.
  2. Any sexual contact with another person without the other’s consent or when the other lacks the capacity to give legally effective consent.

assault Usage Examples

Object

  • saboteur: Countryside Alliance supporter assaulted a hunt saboteur ( Video and stills ) Please click here to view video of incident.
  • policeman: In November 1998, he was sentenced to two weeks in jail for assaulting a policeman.

Converse of object

  • aggravate: Police are hunting three white youths in connection with a racially aggravated assault on an Asian man in Leamington.
  • withstand: How long, after all, can a delicate strand withstand assault from mighty foes like these?
  • commit: The judge found that Mr King had committed two assaults on bailiffs of the court.
  • mount: Simultaneously, the company is mounting a major assault on mainland Europe.
  • launch: Turning force launches a major assault on the right flank.
  • resist: It's a fortified manor house and, despite its apparent defenses, it could never have resisted prolonged assault like a true castle.

Adjective modifier

  • indecent: A formal not guilty verdict was returned on a 10th count of indecent assault, for which the crown offered no evidence.
  • sexual: No visible cause, no sign of battery or sexual assault.
  • frontal: Expected my tastebuds to be whacked by a full frontal assault.
  • all-out: This was just as US troops were preparing with British help for an all-out assault on Fallujah.
  • alleged: Chapman not charged - August 04 Lee Chapman has not been charged by police for an alleged assault.
  • unprovoked: His excuse is that Mother Nature launched an unprovoked assault on Birmingham.

Preposition: on

  • liberty: The campaign against the global assaults on civil liberties is fundamental to the strategic development of the anti-war, global justice and socialist movements.
  • constable: Assault on a constable When a police officer is assaulted in the course of his or her duty.
  • stronghold: The violence across Iraq, in the last week, is apparently in response to the assault on the insurgent stronghold, Fallujah.

Modifying Another Word

indecently: The third woman alleges she was indecently assaulted by Leslie in London last year.

Modifies a noun

rifle: Out of the haze walked the most realistic looking Master Chief ever imagined, assault rifle in hand.

Noun used with modifier

infantry: This closeness had increased the difficulty of firing explosive shells into enemy positions before an infantry assault.

Browse dictionary entries near assault

  1. ‹ assassination
  2. ‹ assassinate
  3. ‹ assassin bug
  4. ‹ assassin
  5. ‹ Assamese
  6. ‹ Assam
  7. ‹ assailant
  8. ‹ assailable
  9. ‹ assail
  10. ‹ assai
  1. assault and battery ›
  2. assay ›
  3. -assed ›
  4. assegai ›
  5. assemblage ›
  6. assemble ›
  7. assembler ›
  8. assembly ›
  9. assembly line ›
  10. assemblyman ›