Standard Lemma guide

assailant

adj · noun · 4 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /əˈseɪlənt/
  • Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: AH0 S EY1 L AH0 N T Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

adj

Meaning 1

Assailing; attacking.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: not-comparable

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

Someone who attacks or assails another violently, or criminally.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: attacker

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

A hostile critic or opponent.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: broadly, figuratively

Examples

  • 1782, Frances Burney, Cecilia, London: T. Payne and Son and T. Cadell, Volume 5, Book 9, Chapter 3, p. 41, [...] the assailants of the quill have their honour as much at heart as the assailants of the sword.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

someone who attacks

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: attacker, aggressor, assaulter

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: wrongdoer, offender

Narrower terms: ambusher, avenger, retaliator, beast, wolf, savage, brute, wildcat, bludgeoner, bully, tough, hooligan, ruffian, roughneck, rowdy, yob, yobo, yobbo, harasser, harrier, iconoclast, marauder, predator, vulture, piranha, night rider, nightrider, raper, rapist, shedder, spiller, slasher, stabber, stoner, lapidator

History

Etymology

From Old French assaillant, from the verb assaillir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“to, towards”) + salīre (“to jump”). Equivalent to assail + -ant.

Across languages

Translations

49 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مُهَاجِم (muhājim) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Arabic: مُعْتَدٍ (muʕtadin) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Azerbaijani: təcavüzkar — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Bulgarian: нападател (napadatel) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Catalan: assaltador — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Chinese Mandarin: 攻擊者 /攻击者 (gōngjīzhě, gōngjízhě) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Czech: útočník — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Danish: overfaldsmand — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Danish: angriber — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Dutch: aanrander — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Finnish: hyökkääjä — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Finnish: päällekarkaaja — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • French: agresseur — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • French: assaillant — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Georgian: თავდამსხმელი (tavdamsxmeli) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • German: Angreifer — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • German: Angreiferin — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Hungarian: támadó — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Icelandic: árásarmaður — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Italian: assalitore — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Italian: assalitrice — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Italian: aggressore — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Italian: aggreditrice — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Japanese: 加害者 (kagaisha) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Kazakh: шабуылдаушы (şabuyldauşy) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Kazakh: шабуылшы (şabuylşy) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Korean: 가해자 (gahaeja) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Latin: oppugnātor — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Macedonian: на́паѓач (nápaǵač) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Macedonian: на́пасник (nápasnik) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Māori: kaihuaki — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Māori: kaipatu — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Māori: kaiuruhi — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Norwegian: overfallsmann — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Norwegian Bokmål: angriper — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Polish: napastnik — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Polish: agresor — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Polish: atakujący — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Polish: napadający — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Portuguese: agressor — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Russian: напада́ющий (napadájuščij) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Russian: напа́вший (napávšij) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Russian: агре́ссор (agréssor) — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Serbo-Croatian: napadač — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Slovene: napadalec — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Slovene: napadalka — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Spanish: asaltante — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Spanish: atacante — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
  • Turkish: saldırgan — an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Real reading context

assailant in complete knowledge articles