assailing

verb

present participle of assail
1
as in attacking
to criticize harshly and usually publicly the union organizers assailed the chemical company for failing to provide a safe working environment

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in assaulting
to take sudden, violent action against the small birds assailed the larger one that had threatened their nest

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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 assailing In a process known as autotomy, the assailing bee leaves its stinger operating independently, driven by its own muscles, various glands, neural ganglia, and a venom sac. — Mike McRae 12, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026 The German leader countered that the far-right party won't win a majority in the country, assailing its stance toward Ukraine and rhetoric on migration. — ABC News, 9 Sep. 2026 The German leader countered that the far-right party won’t win a majority in the country, assailing its stance toward Ukraine and rhetoric on migration. — Geir Moulson, Los Angeles Times, 9 Sep. 2026 The race partly revolved around the war in Gaza, with Lander assailing Goldman for not being critical enough of Israel. — Jesse Bedayn, Fortune, 24 June 2026 Rabb was propelled by a constellation of progressive groups, charting a path to victory partly by assailing his own party as listening more to donors than voters. — CBS News, 24 May 2026 Trump has singled out Moore for criticism, blaming him for a Potomac sewage spill, assailing his handing of Baltimore's bridge collapse and invoking a controversy over his military record. — Francesca Chambers, USA Today, 18 Feb. 2026 In 1495 Columbus retaliated by assailing Taíno villages and capturing chiefs. — Literary Hub, 23 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assailing
  1. attacking
  2. assaulting
  3. slamming
  4. raiding
  5. storming
Verb
  • Selma Blair was arrested Sunday after allegedly attacking crew members on board a Delta flight into New York City.
    — Tracy Wright, FOXNews.com, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Arriving crews reported heavy fire on the third floor and began interior operations, attacking the fire with multiple handlines, Hopkins said.
    — Kansas City Star, Kansas City Star, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • Among those arrested were individuals accused of choking their partners and assaulting their children, the sheriff’s office said.
    — Tanya Babbar, Houston Chronicle, 16 Oct. 2026
  • Selma Blair pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer and nurse after a Delta Air Lines incident.
    — Jack Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • Modeling work suggests the duo will keep orbiting our star for millions of years before ultimately slamming into either Earth or Venus.
    — Mike Wall, Space.com, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The impact caused the Camry to spin around, slamming into the back of a southbound 2021 Toyota RAV4.
    — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of slamming
Verb
  • An increasing number of Americans are raiding their retirement funds to tackle debt.
    — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Preventing undesirable baboon behaviour, like raiding food, is easier than trying to tackle it once it’s become engrained.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of raiding
Verb
  • The Gators were storming up the rankings behind first-year coach Jon Sumrall and igniting the chomp in the Swamp.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 15 Oct. 2026
  • There’s not a single version that doesn’t end with Tommy storming out of the room.
    — Alison Herman, Variety, 12 Oct. 2026
Definition of storming

Browse Nearby Words

assailed
assailing
assails
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Assailing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assailing. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of compunction

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?
See More

Popular

See More

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
artwork of illustrated limes with the text limes and smile with an arrow connecting the two words
Quiz: Spot the Anagram! Scramble these words to find new words with the e...
See All