SG Heritage Dictionary

Assault [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. An attack or violent onset, whether by an individual, a company, or an army. An assault by private persons may be made with or without weapons. As assault by an army is a violent hostile attack; and when made upon a fort or fortified place is called a storm, as opposed to sap or siege.

2. An attack by hostile words or measures; as, an assault upon the prerogatives of a prince, or upon a constitution of government.

3. In Law, an unlawful setting upon one's person; an attempt or offer to beat another, without touching his person; as by lifting the fist or a cane, in a threatening manner. If the blow aimed takes effect, it is a battery.

Assault [Verb transitive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

1. To attack or fall upon by violence, or with a hostile intention; as, to assault a man, a house or town.

2. To invade or fall on with force; as, the cry of war assaults our ears.

3. To attack by words, arguments or unfriendly measures, with a view to shake, impair or overthrow; as, to assault a character, the laws or the administration.

Assault [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

1. A violent onset or attack with physical means, as blows, weapons, etc.; an onslaught; the rush or charge of an attacking force; onset; as, to make assault upon a man, a house, or a town.

2. A violent onset or attack with moral weapons, as words, arguments, appeals, and the like; as, to make an assault on the prerogatives of a prince, or on the constitution of a government.

3. An apparently violent attempt, or willful offer with force or violence, to do hurt to another; an attempt or offer to beat another, accompanied by a degree of violence, but without touching his person, as by lifting the fist, or a cane, in a threatening manner, or by striking at him, and missing him. If the blow aimed takes effect, it is a battery.

4. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces.

5. To attack with moral means, or with a view of producing moral effects; to attack by words, arguments, or unfriendly measures; to assail; as, to assault a reputation or an administration.

Assault Encyclopedia Britannica

ASSAULT, in English Law, is defined “as an attempt or offer with force or violence to do corporal hurt to another, as by striking at another with a stick or other weapon, or without a weapon, though the party misses his aim.” Notwithstanding ancient opinions to the contrary, it is now settled that mere words, be they ever so provoking, will not constitute an assault. Coupled with the attempt or threat to inflict corporal injury, there must in all cases be the means of carrying the threat into effect. A battery is more than a threat or attempt to injure the person of another; the injury must have been inflicted, but it makes no difference however small it may be, as the law does not “draw the line between degrees of violence,” but “totally prohibits the first and lowest stage of it.” Every battery includes an assault. A common assault is a misdemeanour, and is punishable by one year’s imprisonment with hard labour, but severer penalties are provided for the various kinds of aggravated assaults.

’ ASSAYE, a village of Haidarâbâd, in the Nizâm’s dominions, in Southern India, situated in 20° 18' N. lat. and 75° 55' E. long. The place is celebrated as the site of a battle fought on the 23d September 1803 between the combined Marhattâ forces under Sindhiâ and the Râjâ of Berar and the British under Major-General Wellesley, afterwards the Duke of Wellington. The Marhattâ force consisted of 50,000 men, supported by 100 pieces of cannon entrenched in a strong position. Against this the English had but a force of 4500 men, which, however, after a severe struggle, gained the most complete victory that ever crowned British valour in India. Assaye is 261 miles N.W. of Haidarâbâd.

9th ed. Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 2, p. 724
[302 words — estimated reading time: 2 minutes]

Assaultable [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1828

That may be assaulted.

Assaultable [Adjective] Webster's Dictionary 1913

Capable of being assaulted.

Assaulted [Participle passive] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Attacked with force, arms, violence, or hostile views.

Assaulted [Imperfect tense and past participle] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Assault

Assaulter [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1828

One who assaults, or violently attacks.

Assaulter [Noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

One who assaults, or violently attacks; an assailant.

Assaulting [Participle present tense] Webster's Dictionary 1828

Attacking with force, or with hostile measures.

Assaulting [Present participle and verbal noun] Webster's Dictionary 1913

of Assault

Attack Roget’s Thesaurus §716

N. attack, assault, assault and battery, onset, # onslaught, charge, aggression, offense, incursion, inroad, invasion, irruption, outbreak, estrapade, ruade, coupe de main, sally, sortie, camisade, raid, foray, run at, run against, dead set at, storm, storming, boarding, escalade, siege, investment, obsession|, bombardment, cannonade, fire, volley, platoon fire, file fire, fusillade, sharpshooting, broadside, raking fire, cross fire, volley of grapeshot, whiff of the grape, feu d'enfer, cut, thrust, lunge, pass, passado, carte and tierce, home thrust, coupe de bec, kick, punch, battue, razzia, jacquerie, dragonnade, devastation, eboulement, assailant, aggressor, invader, base of operations, point of attack, echelon

V. attack, assault, assail, invade, set upon, fall upon, charge, impugn, break a lance with, enter the lists, assume the offensive, take the offensive, be the aggressor, become the aggressor, strike the first blow, draw first blood, throw the first stone at, lift a hand against, draw the sword against, take up the cudgels, advance against, march against, march upon, harry, come on, show fight, strike at, poke at, thrust at, aim a blow at, deal a blow at, give one a blow, fetch one a blow, fetch one a kick, give one a kick, have a cut at, have a shot at, take a cut at, take a shot at, have a fling at, have a shy at, be down upon, pounce upon, fall foul of, pitch into, launch out against, bait, slap on the face, make a thrust at, make a pass at, make a set at, make a dead set at, bear down upon, close with, come to close quarters, bring to bay, ride full tilt against, attack tooth and nail, go at hammer and tongs, let fly at, dash at, run a tilt at, rush at, tilt at, run at, fly at, hawk at, have at, let out at, make a dash, make a rush at, strike home, drive one hard, press one hard, be hard upon, run down, strike at the root of, lay about one, run amuck, aim at, draw a bead on, fire upon, fire at, fire a shot at, shoot at, pop at, level at, let off a gun at, open fire, pepper, bombard, shell, pour a broadside into, fire a volley, fire red-hot shot, spring a mine, throw a stone, throw stones at, stone, lapidate, pelt, hurl at, hurl against, hurl at the head of, rock beset, besiege, beleaguer, lay siege to, invest, open the trenches, plant a battery, sap, mine, storm, board, scale the walls, cut and thrust, bayonet, butt, kick, strike, whip, assail, impugn, malign (detract) 934, bomb, rocket, blast

Adj. attacking, aggressive, offensive, obsidional, up in arms

Adv. on the offensive

Phr. "the din of arms, the yell of savage rage, the shriek of agony, the groan of death", "their fatal hands no second stroke intend", "thirst for glory quells the love of life"

Int. "up and at them!"

King James Bible KJV Bible

Berean Standard Bible BSB Bible

15 KJV and 7 BSB verses contain “assault” — showing the first 20. Show all 22 verses (searchable)

Deuteronomy 17:8

If there arise a matter too hard for thee in judgment, between blood and blood, between plea and plea, and between stroke and stroke, being matters of controversy within thy gates: then shalt thou arise, and get thee up into the place which the LORD thy God shall choose;

If a case is too difficult for you to judge, whether the controversy within your gates is regarding bloodshed, lawsuits, or assaults, you must go up to the place the LORD your God will choose.

Deuteronomy 21:5

And the priests the sons of Levi shall come near; for them the LORD thy God hath chosen to minister unto him, and to bless in the name of the LORD; and by their word shall every controversy and every stroke be tried:

And the priests, the sons of Levi, shall come forward, for the LORD your God has chosen them to serve Him and pronounce blessings in His name and to give a ruling in every dispute and case of assault.

Judges 20:34

And there came against Gibeah ten thousand chosen men out of all Israel, and the battle was sore: but they knew not that evil was near them.

Then 10,000 select men from all Israel made a frontal assault against Gibeah, and the battle was fierce. But the Benjamites did not realize that disaster was upon them.

1 Samuel 14:14

And that first slaughter, which Jonathan and his armourbearer made, was about twenty men, within as it were an half acre of land, which a yoke of oxen might plow.

In that first assault, Jonathan and his armor-bearer struck down about twenty men over half an acre of land.

Esther 7:8

Then the king returned out of the palace garden into the place of the banquet of wine; and Haman was fallen upon the bed whereon Esther was. Then said the king, Will he force the queen also before me in the house? As the word went out of the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Just as the king returned from the palace garden to the banquet hall, Haman was falling on the couch where Esther was reclining. The king exclaimed, “Would he actually assault the queen while I am in the palace?” As soon as the words had left the king’s mouth, they covered Haman’s face.

Esther 8:11

Wherein the king granted the Jews which were in every city to gather themselves together, and to stand for their life, to destroy, to slay, and to cause to perish, all the power of the people and province that would assault them, both little ones and women, and to take the spoil of them for a prey,

By these letters the king permitted the Jews in each and every city the right to assemble and defend themselves, to destroy, kill, and annihilate all the forces of any people or province hostile to them, including women and children, and to plunder their possessions.

Job 10:17

Thou renewest thy witnesses against me, and increasest thine indignation upon me; changes and war are against me.

You produce new witnesses against me and multiply Your anger toward me. Hardships assault me in wave after wave.

Proverbs 19:26

He that wasteth his father, and chaseth away his mother, is a son that causeth shame, and bringeth reproach.

He who assaults his father or evicts his mother is a son who brings shame and disgrace.

Acts 14:5

And when there was an assault made both of the Gentiles, and also of the Jews with their rulers, to use them despitefully, and to stone them,

But when the Gentiles and Jews, together with their rulers, set out to mistreat and stone them,

Acts 17:5

But the Jews which believed not, moved with envy, took unto them certain lewd fellows of the baser sort, and gathered a company, and set all the city on an uproar, and assaulted the house of Jason, and sought to bring them out to the people.

The Jews, however, became jealous. So they brought in some troublemakers from the marketplace, formed a mob, and sent the city into an uproar. They raided Jason’s house in search of Paul and Silas, hoping to bring them out to the people.

1 Maccabees 4:8

Then said Judas to the men that were with him, Fear ye not their multitude, neither be ye afraid of their assault.

1 Maccabees 5:16

Now when Judas and the people heard these words, there assembled a great congregation together, to consult what they should do for their brethren, that were in trouble, and assaulted of them.

1 Maccabees 5:30

And betimes in the morning they looked up, and, behold, there was an innumerable people bearing ladders and other engines of war, to take the fortress: for they assaulted them.

1 Maccabees 5:35

This done, Judas turned aside to Maspha; and after he had assaulted it he took and slew all the males therein, and received the spoils thereof and and burnt it with fire.

1 Maccabees 5:50

So the soldiers pitched, and assaulted the city all that day and all that night, till at the length the city was delivered into his hands:

1 Maccabees 6:31

These went through Idumea, and pitched against Bethsura, which they assaulted many days, making engines of war; but they of Bethsura came out, and burned them with fire, and fought valiantly.

1 Maccabees 11:50

Grant us peace, and let the Jews cease from assaulting us and the city.

1 Maccabees 15:25

So Antiochus the king camped against Dora the second day, assaulting it continually, and making engines, by which means he shut up Tryphon, that he could neither go out nor in.

2 Maccabees 5:5

Now when there was gone forth a false rumour, as though Antiochus had been dead, Jason took at the least a thousand men, and suddenly made an assault upon the city; and they that were upon the walls being put back, and the city at length taken, Menelaus fled into the castle:

2 Maccabees 10:17

And assaulting them strongly, they won the holds, and kept off all that fought upon the wall, and slew all that fell into their hands, and killed no fewer than twenty thousand.