Meaning of "assault" in the English dictionary

ETYMOLOGY OF THE WORD ASSAULT

From Old French asaut, from Vulgar Latin assaltus (unattested), from assalīre (unattested) to leap upon.

Etymology is the study of the origin of words and their changes in structure and significance.

PRONUNCIATION OF ASSAULT

əˈsɔːlt

GRAMMATICAL CATEGORY OF ASSAULT

Assault is a verb and can also act as a noun.

A noun is a type of word the meaning of which determines reality. Nouns provide the names for all things: people, objects, sensations, feelings, etc.

The verb is the part of the sentence that is conjugated and expresses action and state of being.

See the conjugation of the verb assault in English.

WHAT DOES ASSAULT MEAN IN ENGLISH?

Assault

In common law, assault is the act of creating apprehension of an imminent harmful or offensive contact with a person. An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal and/or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and tort law. There is, however, an additional criminal law category of assault consisting of an attempted but unsuccessful battery. The term is often confused with battery, which involves physical contact. The specific meaning of assault varies between countries, but can refer to an act that causes another to apprehend immediate and personal violence, or in the more limited sense of a threat of violence caused by an immediate show of force. Assault in many US jurisdictions and Scotland is defined more broadly still as any intentional physical contact with another person without their consent; but in England and Wales and in most other common law jurisdictions in the world, this is defined instead as battery.

Definition of assault in the English dictionary

The first definition of assault in the dictionary is a violent attack, either physical or verbal. Other definition of assault is the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters. Assault is also rape or attempted rape.

CONJUGATION OF THE VERB TO ASSAULT

PRESENT

Present

I assault

you assault

he/she/it assaults

we assault

you assault

they assault

Present continuous

I am assaulting

you are assaulting

he/she/it is assaulting

we are assaulting

you are assaulting

they are assaulting

Present perfect

I have assaulted

you have assaulted

he/she/it has assaulted

we have assaulted

you have assaulted

they have assaulted

Present perfect continuous

I have been assaulting

you have been assaulting

he/she/it has been assaulting

we have been assaulting

you have been assaulting

they have been assaulting

Present tense is used to refer to circumstances that exist at the present time or over a period that includes the present time. The present perfect refers to past events, although it can be considered to denote primarily the resulting present situation rather than the events themselves.

PAST

Past

I assaulted

you assaulted

he/she/it assaulted

we assaulted

you assaulted

they assaulted

Past continuous

I was assaulting

you were assaulting

he/she/it was assaulting

we were assaulting

you were assaulting

they were assaulting

Past perfect

I had assaulted

you had assaulted

he/she/it had assaulted

we had assaulted

you had assaulted

they had assaulted

Past perfect continuous

I had been assaulting

you had been assaulting

he/she/it had been assaulting

we had been assaulting

you had been assaulting

they had been assaulting

Past tense forms express circumstances existing at some time in the past,

FUTURE

Future

I will assault

you will assault

he/she/it will assault

we will assault

you will assault

they will assault

Future continuous

I will be assaulting

you will be assaulting

he/she/it will be assaulting

we will be assaulting

you will be assaulting

they will be assaulting

Future perfect

I will have assaulted

you will have assaulted

he/she/it will have assaulted

we will have assaulted

you will have assaulted

they will have assaulted

Future perfect continuous

I will have been assaulting

you will have been assaulting

he/she/it will have been assaulting

we will have been assaulting

you will have been assaulting

they will have been assaulting

The future is used to express circumstances that will occur at a later time.

CONDITIONAL

Conditional

I would assault

you would assault

he/she/it would assault

we would assault

you would assault

they would assault

Conditional continuous

I would be assaulting

you would be assaulting

he/she/it would be assaulting

we would be assaulting

you would be assaulting

they would be assaulting

Conditional perfect

I would have assault

you would have assault

he/she/it would have assault

we would have assault

you would have assault

they would have assault

Conditional perfect continuous

I would have been assaulting

you would have been assaulting

he/she/it would have been assaulting

we would have been assaulting

you would have been assaulting

they would have been assaulting

Conditional or "future-in-the-past" tense refers to hypothetical or possible actions.

IMPERATIVE

Imperative

you assault
we let´s assault
you assault

The imperative is used to form commands or requests.

NONFINITE VERB FORMS

Infinitive

to assault

Past participle

assaulted

Present Participle

assaulting

Infinitive shows the action beyond temporal perspective. The present participle or gerund shows the action during the session. The past participle shows the action after completion.

SYNONYMS OF «ASSAULT»

The following words have a similar or identical meaning as «assault» and belong to the same grammatical category.

ABH · abuse · assail · attack · bang · bash · batter · battery · beat · beating · belabour · belt · beset · blame · calumny · campaign · censure · character assassination · charge · chin · clip · clobber · clout · criticism · cuff · deck · denigration · fall on · flog · foray · GBH · impugnment · incursion · inroad · invade · invasion · knock · lay into · lob · mugging · offensive · onset · onslaught · punch · raid · rush · set about · set upon · sideswipe · slap · smack · smite · sock · stick · storm · storming · strike · swat · thump · tonk · vilification · wallop · whack

TRANSLATION OF ASSAULT

Find out the translation of assault to 25 languages with our English multilingual translator.

The translations of assault from English to other languages presented in this section have been obtained through automatic statistical translation; where the essential translation unit is the word «assault» in English.

• Translator English - Chinese: 猛攻
• Translator English - Spanish: asalto
• English: assault
• Translator English - Hindi: हमला
• Translator English - Arabic: الاعتداء
• Translator English - Russian: нападение
• Translator English - Portuguese: investida
• Translator English - Bengali: লাঞ্ছনা
• Translator English - French: assaut
• Translator English - Malay: Serangan
• Translator English - German: Angriff
• Translator English - Japanese: 襲撃
• Translator English - Korean: 공격
• Translator English - Javanese: Nyerang
• Translator English - Vietnamese: tấn công
• Translator English - Tamil: தாக்குதல்
• Translator English - Marathi: प्राणघातक हल्ला
• Translator English - Turkish: saldırı
• Translator English - Italian: assalto
• Translator English - Polish: assault
• Translator English - Ukrainian: напад
• Translator English - Romanian: asalt
• Translator English - Greek: επίθεση
• Translator English - Afrikaans: aanranding
• Translator English - Swedish: överfall
• Translator English - Norwegian: overfall

10 QUOTES WITH «ASSAULT»

Famous quotes and sentences with the word assault.

1

Vikram Chatwal

There is nothing you can do to assuage your conscience when you commit sins. Crime is a spiritual assault on the soul.

2

Barry Commoner

The modern assault on the environment began about 50 years ago, during and immediately after World War II.

3

Amber Cope

I am not only overwhelmed with excitement to be back in the seat but also to show my support to help raise awareness to end domestic violence and sexual assault by displaying the 'No More' symbol as I pilot the No. 24 car.

4

Lisa Edelstein

Decades ago, women suffered through horrifying back-alley abortions. Or, they used dangerous methods when they had no other recourse. So when the Republican Party launched an all-out assault on women's health, pushing bills to limit access to vital services, we had to ask: Why is the GOP trying to send women back... to the back alley?

5

Dwight D. Eisenhower

You don't lead by hitting people over the head - that's assault, not leadership.

6

Joe Eszterhas

I was a militant smoker, and in my case, I think I particularly used smoking because what I felt was a kind of politically correct big brother assault on smoking.

7

Stephen J. Field

The present assault upon capital is but the beginning. It will be but a stepping-stone to others, larger and more sweeping, till our political contests will become a war of the poor against the rich.

8

James A. Forbes

The American dream is under assault.

9

Athol Fugard

Night-time is when I brainstorm; last thing, when the family's asleep and I'm alone, I think about the next day's writing and plan a strategy for my assault on the blank page.

10

Richard Hanna

I think these are very precarious times for women, it seems. So many of your rights are under assault.

10 ENGLISH BOOKS RELATING TO «ASSAULT»

Discover the use of assault in the following bibliographical selection. Books relating to assault and brief extracts from same to provide context of its use in English literature.

The Assault

But the past keeps breaking through, in relentless memories and in chance encounters with the other actors in the drama, until Anton finally learns what really happened that night in 1945, and why. From the Trade Paperback edition.

Harry Mulisch, 2011

Persecuted: The Global Assault on Christians

Three buses full of students and teachers are struck by roadside bombs. These are not casualties of a war. These are Christian believers being persecuted for their faith in the twenty-first century.

Paul Marshall, 2013

Confronting Rape and Sexual Assault

This collection analyzes social and institutional factors that contribute to their occurrence and provides strategies for prevention and change.

Mary E. Odem, Jody Clay-Warner, 1998

The Domestic Assault of Women: Psychological and Criminal ...

This book provides a comprehensive look at the causes and effects of wife assault and its relationship to criminal justice policy.

Donald G. Dutton, 1995

The Assault on Reason: How the Politics of Blind Faith ...

As Al Gore's farsighted and powerful manifesto for clear thinking shows, there is precious little time to waste.

Al Gore, 2012

The Assault on Truth

Bracing in its honesty, gripping in its revelations, this is the book that prompted Masson?s break with the psychoanalytic community?and launched his subsequent brilliant career as an independent thinker and writer.

Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson, 2012

The Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons

The Gun Digest Book of Assault Weapons is all about true assault weapons...fully automatic, selective-fire or equipped with mission-specific features designed only for military and law enforcement applications.

Jack Lewis, 2007

Covering: The Hidden Assault on Our Civil Rights

With passion and rigor, he shows that the work of civil rights will not be complete until it attends to the harms of coerced conformity.

Kenji Yoshino, 2011

Policing Sexual Assault

This book provides a detailed and uncompromising account of current police practices in the UK, in response to sexual assault. Includes chapters on domestic violence, male/female rape, police culture and harassment within the police force.

Jeanne Gregory, Sue Lees, 2012

The Assault on Diversity: An Organized Challenge to Racial ...

An essential handbook on the complex network of conservative foundations, think tanks, legal advocacy groups, and coordinating structures working to undermine the historic gains of the civil rights movement.

Lee Cokorinos, 2003

10 NEWS ITEMS WHICH INCLUDE THE TERM «ASSAULT»

Find out what the national and international press are talking about and how the term assault is used in the context of the following news items.

Oklahoma truck driver points assault rifle at off-duty officer, gets …

(AP) — Oklahoma authorities have arrested the driver of a truck who they say pointed an assault rifle at an off-duty police officer who attempted ... «Tulsa World, Jul 15»

Violent sexual assault of woman with learning disability gets man 8 …

The man in his 30's pleaded guilty to aggravated sexual assault at the Central Criminal Court last November, after seeing video footage of the ... «Irish Examiner, Jul 15»

Police investigate squeegee assault in Lindsay

Kawartha Lakes Police say they were called shortly after midnight Sunday morning (July 5) about an alleged assault at a Lindsay Street South ... «Kawartha Media Group, Jul 15»

Cumberland man pleads guilty to manslaughter and assault

CUMBERLAND, Md. -- A Cumberland man pleaded guilty to first-degree assault and manslaughter in Allegany County Circuit Court. «WHAG, Jul 15»

Police: Man's assault near Fountain Square investigated as hate crime

CINCINNATI —An assault on a man near Fountain Square on Saturday ... Parts of the assault appear to have been captured on at least two ... «WLWT Cincinnati, Jul 15»

Detroit man wanted for assault, kidnapping

DETROIT (WXYZ) - The search is on for a Detroit man wanted for kidnapping and assault. Fontaine Berrien, 36, is accused of assaulting and ... «WXYZ, Jul 15»

Austin man charged with sword assault

... cut through bone, according to the arrest warrant. Mejia has been charged with aggravated assault with a serious bodily injury, police said. «KXAN.com, Jul 15»

Shrewsbury student tried to pay assault victim £4000 to drop charges

A university student from Shrewsbury offered £4,000 to the victim of a vicious assault to drop charges against three of his friends who stand ... «shropshirestar.com, Jul 15»

Change text size for the story

INNISFIL - A 59-year-old Barrie man is facing two assault charges after police say he punched his common-law partner twice. South Simcoe ... «The Barrie Examiner, Jul 15»

Man reports road rage assault

A man showed up at Grandview Hospital Sunday with wounds he said stemmed from a road rage incident. The victim told police a vehicle was ... «WHIO, Jul 15»