Definition of Assault

1. Noun. Close fighting during the culmination of a military attack.

Specialized synonyms: Resisting Arrest, Storm
Generic synonyms: Battle, Conflict, Engagement, Fight
Group relationships: Attack, Onrush, Onset, Onslaught
Category relationships: Armed Forces, Armed Services, Military, Military Machine, War Machine

2. Verb. Attack someone physically or emotionally. "Nightmares assailed him regularly"

3. Noun. A threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped.
Specialized synonyms: Aggravated Assault, Assault And Battery, Battery, Mugging
Generic synonyms: Attack, Attempt

4. Verb. Force (someone) to have sex against their will. "They want to assault the prisoners "; "The woman was raped on her way home at night"
Exact synonyms: Dishonor, Dishonour, Outrage, Rape, Ravish, Violate
Generic synonyms: Assail, Attack, Set On
Specialized synonyms: Gang-rape
Derivative terms: Assaultive, Dishonor, Outrage, Rape, Raper, Ravisher, Ravishment, Violation, Violator

5. Noun. Thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1946.
Generic synonyms: Thoroughbred

6. Verb. Attack in speech or writing. "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"

7. Noun. The crime of forcing a woman to submit to sexual intercourse against her will.
Exact synonyms: Rape, Ravishment, Violation
Specialized synonyms: Date Rape, Carnal Abuse, Statutory Rape
Generic synonyms: Sex Crime, Sex Offense, Sexual Abuse, Sexual Assault
Derivative terms: Rape, Ravish, Violate

Definition of Assault

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

Definition of Assault

1. Noun. 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. ¹

2. Noun. 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. ¹

3. Noun. (context: criminal legal) An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching his person, as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at him and missing him. ¹

4. Noun. (singulare tantum legal) The crime whose action is such an attempt. ¹

5. Noun. (context: tort legal) An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm. ¹

6. Noun. (singulare tantum legal) The tort whose action is such an act. ¹

7. Noun. (fencing) A non-competitive combat between two fencers. ¹

8. Verb. To attack, threaten or harass. ¹

¹ Source: wiktionary.com

Definition of Assault

1. to attack [v -ED, -ING, -S] - See also: attack

Medical Definition of Assault

1. 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. "The Spanish general prepared to renew the assault." (Prescott) "Unshaken bears the assault Of their most dreaded foe, the strong southwest." (Wordsworth) 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. "Practically, however, the word assault is used to include the battery." (Mozley & W) Synonym: Attack, invasion, incursion, descent, onset, onslaught, charge, storm. Origin: OE. Asaut, assaut, OF. Assaut, asalt, F. Assaut, LL. Assaltus; L. Ad + saltus a leaping, a springing, salire to leap. See Assail. 1. To make an assault upon, as by a sudden rush of armed men; to attack with unlawful or insulting physical violence or menaces. "Insnared, assaulted, overcome, led bound." (Milton) 2. 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. "Before the gates, the cries of babes newborn, . . . Assault his ears." (Dryden) In the latter sense, assail is more common. Synonym: To attack, assail, invade, encounter, storm, charge. See Attack. Origin: From Assault,: cf. OF. Assaulter, LL. Assaltare. Source: Websters Dictionary (01 Mar 1998)

Literary usage of Assault

Below you will find example usage of this term as found in modern and/or classical literature:

1. A Treatise on the Law of Evidence by Simon Greenleaf (1899)
"assault. § 58. Indictment. The indictment for a common assault charges that the offender, at such a time and place, "with force and arms, in and upon one CD ..."

2. The Law Reports by James Redfoord Bulwer (1872)
"Verdict " Guilty of an assault." An indictment charged the prisoner in the first count with " unlawfully and maliciously wound- inn," and in the second ..."

3. Handbook of the Law of Torts by Heman Gerald Chapin (1917)
"assault 6l. "An assault is any attempt or offer with force or violence to do a ... Or, put another way, an assault is an inchoate battery—a battery, ..."

4. International Law: A Treatise by Lassa Oppenheim (1906)
"It is in especial not3 necessary to notify an assault to the authorities of the respective locality, or to request them to surrender before making an ..."

5. Personal Memoirs of U.S. Grant by Ulysses Simpson Grant (1886)
"I determined that an assault should be made at that point.* Accordingly in the afternoon Hancock was ordered to move his command by the rear of Warren and ..."

6. A Treatise on the Criminal Law of the United States by Francis Wharton (1874)
"gered," sufficiently shows that the assault was upon a living person. j An indictment against a medical practitioner charged that he made divers assaults on ..."

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