ASSAILED Synonyms: 123 Similar and Opposite Words

assailed

verb

past tense of assail

as in attacked

to criticize harshly and usually publicly the union organizers assailed the chemical company for failing to provide a safe working environment

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in assaulted

to take sudden, violent action against the small birds assailed the larger one that had threatened their nest

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Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of assailed Kennedy’s post also assailed Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro, who has criticized Kennedy’s anti-vaccine rhetoric and activism. — Beth Mole, ArsTechnica, 27 Aug. 2026 Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez, whose administration was widely assailed for its desultory initial response, has made high-profile appearances in La Guaira. — Mery Mogollón, Los Angeles Times, 14 Aug. 2026 No two tales of what happened to Maelor after his knight protector was shot dead agree, but the young boy was also slain on the bridge, perhaps torn apart by the mob who assailed him, arguing over what to do with the young prince. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Decades out of practice, Saxberger is assailed by writer’s block and confused by the machinations of a modern-day publishing industry that wants to turn his rediscovery into a branding exercise. — Justin Chang, New Yorker, 7 Aug. 2026 Trump has personally assailed justices who rule against him in stark terms. — Gene Johnson, Fortune, 24 July 2026 Even the urologist’s office has athletic jerseys hanging in the treatment room so that men’s masculinity will not be assailed. — Brian Moylan, Vulture, 16 July 2026 Roberts once signed on to a Kagan dissent that assailed the shadow docket. — Ken B. Morales, ProPublica, 1 July 2026 Lander has assailed Goldman for accepting AIPAC’s endorsement and for voting to send military aid to Israel, which Lander has vowed to oppose. — Russell Berman, The Atlantic, 7 June 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for assailed

Verb

For example, ExploitGym, a cybersecurity benchmark that was at the center of the July incident in which OpenAI’s models went rogue and attacked the company Hugging Face, was created in 2026.

— Emily Forlini, Fortune, 5 Sep. 2026
In the wake of Thursday’s ruling, a chorus of Missouri Republicans have attacked the court over its decision.

— Kacen Bayless, Kansas City Star, 4 Sep. 2026

Definition of attacked

Verb

The 28-year-old’s mother allegedly claimed in a complaint to police that, on July 3, Kaur had been abducted by two acquaintances, assaulted, tied to a tree and set on fire, the outlets reported.

— Gina Kalsi, PEOPLE, 1 Sep. 2026
On Tuesday, Rolling Stone reported that a local court cited former Below Deck Med star Gael Cameron, with whom Gallagher shares a child , as the woman allegedly assaulted by Gallagher.

— McKinley Franklin, HollywoodReporter, 1 Sep. 2026

Definition of assaulted

Verb

In January, just days after the Bears’ magical 2025 dream run ended with a playoff loss, Poles was thrilled when Johnson slammed the back cover on that season and ordered everyone to start working for 2026.

— Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 3 Sep. 2026
The helicopter was on a training mission and hovering just feet above the grass next to the runway when the plane slammed into it.

— Pete Muntean, CNN Money, 3 Sep. 2026

Definition of slammed

Verb

Thieves on Thursday raided the Treasure of Villena -- one of the greatest Bronze Age gold collections -- at a museum in the Spanish city of Villena, taking most of the 50-plus mainly gold bracelets, bowls, bottles and other items on display.

— CBS News, CBS News, 28 Aug. 2026
Mundubile, who rejected the election result as neither free nor fair, had been in hiding since security forces raided his Lusaka home during the election period.

— Tiisetso Motsoeneng, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 2026

Definition of raided

Verb

In fact, during testing, the handheld triggered nostalgic memories of playing Final Fantasy Legend and Mario Land 2 on long car rides to my grandparents' house, but without the eye strain and being scolded for playing in the dark as the sun set.

— Will Greenwald, PC Magazine, 22 Aug. 2026
For over a year, the White House has scolded and threatened the Smithsonian.

— Kelsey Ables, The Atlantic, 20 Aug. 2026

Definition of scolded

Verb

Young people armed with machetes stormed the site of the funeral, forcing the team to flee and injuring one member, a representative told the Associated Press.

— Constant Same Bagalwa, Los Angeles Times, 31 Aug. 2026
Jerusalem — Israeli settlers stormed a Palestinian village in the occupied West Bank on Saturday and seized a home while its owner was inside in the latest brazen settler attack in the area.

— Oren Liebermann, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026

Definition of stormed

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“Assailed.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assailed. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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Synonyms of assailed

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