🔍 牛津詞典
🔍 朗文詞典
🔍 劍橋詞典
🔍 柯林斯詞典
🔍 麥美倫詞典
🔍 韋氏詞典 🎯

檢索以下詞典:
(Mr. Ng 不推薦使用 Google 翻譯!)
最近搜尋:
TOEFL BNC: 15181 COCA: 15900

assail

verb

as·​sail ə-ˈsāl How to pronounce assail (audio)
assailed; assailing; assails

transitive verb

1
: to attack violently : assault
The military has for years been developing offensive capabilities, giving it the power not just to defend the US but to assail its foes. James Bamford
2
: to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically
When a lazy man does make up his mind to assail a piece of work, he is like a dog with a bone. P. G. Wodehouse
3
: to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully
a proposal assailed by critics
… it is evident that Khrushchev was in trouble at home. The Chinese had also begun to assail him for being soft on the imperialists. Alexander Darlin
4
a
: to trouble or afflict in a manner that threatens to overwhelm
a man assailed by doubts/fears
… but now a terrible fear began to assail me. Bram Stoker
Many diseases stemming from bacterial, fungal and parasitic infections can assail human as well as canine systems. Tom Ewing
b
: to be perceived by (a person, a person's senses, etc.) in a strongly noticeable and usually unpleasant way
Here, too, is brought … all the waste stuff of the nation—everything that is subject to rot, and that can add to the foul stench that assails our nostrils. Edgar Rice Burroughs
assailable adjective

Did you know?

Assail comes from an Anglo-French verb, assaillir, which itself traces back to the Latin verb assilire ("to leap upon"). Assilire combines the prefix ad- ("to, toward") with the Latin verb salire, meaning "to leap." (Salire is the root of a number of English words related to jumping or leaping, such as somersault and sally, as well as assault, a synonym of assail.) When assail was first used in the 13th century, it meant "to make a violent physical attack upon." By the early 15th century, English speakers were using the term to mean "to attack with words or arguments." Now the verb can refer to any kind of aggressive encounter, even if it is not necessarily violent or quarrelsome, as in "Upon entering the room, we were assailed by a horrible odor."

Choose the Right Synonym for assail

attack, assail, assault, bombard, storm mean to make an onslaught upon.

attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle.

plan to attack the town at dawn

assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots.

assailed the enemy with artillery fire

assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught.

commandos assaulted the building from all sides

bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells.

bombarded the city nightly

storm implies attempting to break into a defended position.

preparing to storm the fortress

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web Opponents of the plan continue to assail its fairness and the potential costs. Danielle Douglas-gabriel, Anchorage Daily News, 27 Aug. 2022 Opponents of the plan continue to assail its fairness and the potential costs. Danielle Douglas-gabriel, BostonGlobe.com, 26 Aug. 2022 And in the east, Russian forces have used long-range artillery to assail cities in the Donbas region, which Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to control. Libby Cathey, ABC News, 21 June 2022 What’s more, journalists didn’t hesitate to assail Cimino with questions about his new look. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 22 May 2022 This catastrophe is unfolding as the pandemic continues to assail health systems, depleting government resources, and as the Federal Reserve and other central banks raise interest rates to choke off inflation. New York Times, 17 May 2022 Those who like to assail corporate owners that don’t have the backs of their journalists just got a fresh and compelling case in point. Washington Post, 9 May 2022 Even after Buscaino decided to drop out, his political strategists continued to assail Caruso on Thursday. Benjamin Oreskes, Los Angeles Times, 12 May 2022 RICK HESS - Biden admin found time to assail public charter schools, denounce state tests as an attack on public schools and give a taxpayer handout for college loans. Jack Durschlag, Fox News, 20 Apr. 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Middle English, from Anglo-French assaillir, from Vulgar Latin *assalire, alteration of Latin assilire to leap upon, from ad- + salire to leap — more at sally

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of assail was in the 13th century

👨🏻‍🏫 Mr. Ng 韋氏詞典 📚 – mw.mister5️⃣.net
切換為繁體中文
Site Uptime