attack

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(ə-tăk') pronunciation

v., -tacked, -tack·ing, -tacks.

v.tr.
  1. To set upon with violent force.
  2. To criticize strongly or in a hostile manner.
  3. To start work on with purpose and vigor: attack a problem.
  4. To begin to affect harmfully: a disease that attacks the central nervous system.
v.intr.
To make an attack; launch an assault: The enemy attacked during the night.

n.
  1. The act or an instance of attacking; an assault.
  2. An expression of strong criticism; hostile comment: vicious attacks in all the newspapers.
  3. Sports.
    1. An offensive action in a sport or game.
    2. The players executing such an action.
    1. The initial movement in a task or undertaking: made an optimistic attack on the pile of paperwork.
    2. A method or procedure: Our attack on this project will have two phases.
  4. An episode or onset of a disease, especially an occurrence of a chronic disease: an asthma attack.
  5. The experience or beginning of a feeling, need, or desire: an attack of hunger; an attack of melancholy.
    1. Music. The beginning or manner of beginning a piece, passage, or tone.
    2. Decisiveness and clarity in artistic expression: a careful performance, but one lacking the rigorous attack the work demands.

[French attaquer, from Old French, from Old Italian *estaccare, of Germanic origin.]

attacker at·tack'er n.

SYNONYMS   attack, bombard, assail, storm, assault, beset. These verbs mean to set upon, physically or figuratively. Attack applies to offensive action, especially to the onset of planned aggression: The commandos attacked the outpost at dawn. Bombard suggests showering with bombs or shells (The warplanes bombarded the town) or with words (The celebrity was bombarded with invitations). Assail implies repeated attacks: Critics assailed the author's second novel. Storm refers to a sudden, sweeping attempt to achieve a victory: "After triumphantly storming the country, [the President] is obliged to storm Capitol Hill" (The Economist). Assault usually implies sudden, intense violence: Muggers often assault their victims on dark streets. Beset suggests beleaguerment from all sides: The fox was beset by hunters and hounds.


A person or other entity such as a computer program that attempts to cause harm to an information system; for example, by unauthorized access or denial of service. Human attackers are also called "crackers" and "hackers." See attack.

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verb

  1. To set upon with violent force: aggress, assail, assault, beset, fall on (or upon), go at, have at, sail into, storm, strike. Informal light into, pitch into. See attack/defend.
  2. To start work on vigorously: go at, sail in, tackle, wade in (or into). Idioms: hop to it. See work/play.

noun

  1. The act of attacking: aggression, assailment, assault, attempt, offense, offensive, onrush, onset, onslaught, strike. See attack/defend.
  2. A method used in dealing with something: approach, course, line, modus operandi, plan, procedure, tack, technique. See means.
  3. A sudden and often acute manifestation of a disease: access, fit, seizure. Informal spell. See health/sickness.


n

Definition: physical assault
Antonyms: aid, defense, flight, protection, resistance, retreat, shelter, shield, support, surrender, sustenance

n

Definition: sudden dysfunction or disorder
Antonyms: health

n

Definition: verbal assault
Antonyms: defense, reprisal, resistance, retreat, submission, surrender

v

Definition: assault physically
Antonyms: aid, defend, protect, resist, retreat, shelter, shield, submit, support, surrender, sustain

v

Definition: assault verbally
Antonyms: defend, resist, submit, withstand

v

Definition: set to work
Antonyms: be lazy, slough off

A particularly incisive accentuation of dance steps.

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pronunciation

IN BRIEF: To set upon with force or violence.

pronunciation Attack the evil that is within yourself, rather than attacking the evil that is in others." — Confucius (ca. 551-479 B.C.)

Tutor's tip: It helps to have a good "attaché" (specialist attached to an embassy) if an allied country is "attacked" (set upon forcefully), especially if there's a way to "attach" (bind together) words with action.

LearnThatWord.com is a free vocabulary and spelling program where you only pay for results!

sign description: The fist of one hand strikes against the index finger of the other hand.




If one is being attacked in a dream, it can reflect feelings about something threatening in one's environment. Defensiveness. The same kind of dream can mean feeling threatened by one's own repressed aggressiveness, anger, or sexuality, especially if one is being attacked by an animal. If one is the attacker, it can reflect everything from self-assertiveness to the desire to attack something or someone in one's environment. "Attack" can also be used as a metaphor, as in attacks of hunger, illness, conscience, guilt etc.


An episode or onset of illness.

  • a. rate — the proportion of a population affected by the disease during a prescribed, usually short, period of time.
Random House Word Menu:

categories related to 'attacker'

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Random House Word Menu by Stephen Glazier
For a list of words related to attacker, see:
  • Violent Persons - attacker: one who uses force to harm others or start a fight; assailant


  See crossword solutions for the clue Attack.

Attack may refer to:

Contents

Titled works

Albums

  • Attack!! (2002), by Yngwie J. Malmsteen
  • The Attack (album) (2007), by Jah Jah

Songs

See also

  • Attack No. 1, comic and animation
  • Attack! Attack!, band
  • Attac, activist organization Association pour la taxation des transactions financières et pour l'action citoyenne

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Dansk (Danish)
v. tr. - angribe, overfalde
v. intr. - angribe, være angriber
n. - angreb, overfald

idioms:

  • under attack    under angreb

Nederlands (Dutch)
aanval, overval, aanpak, inzet (muziek), beroerte, hartaanval, enthousiasme, aanvallen, aanpakken/-grijpen, aantasten, overvallen

Français (French)
v. tr. - (lit, fig) attaquer, (Mil) assaillir, attaquer, s'attaquer à, combattre, (Chim) attaquer, corroder, ronger
v. intr. - attaquer
n. - (gén, Mil, Sport) attaque, (Jur) attentat, (fig) attaque, (Méd) crise, accès, (Psych) agression

idioms:

  • under attack    (Mil) (être) attaqué par, (fig) (être) en butte aux attaques de, (Psych) (se sentir) agressé

Deutsch (German)
v. - angreifen, befallen, herfallen über
n. - Angriff, Anschlag, Anfall

idioms:

  • under attack    angegriffen

Ελληνική (Greek)
v. - επιτίθεμαι, ρίχνομαι σε, αρχίζω δουλειά με ζήλο, πέφτω με τα μούτρα, (ιατρ.) προσβάλλω
n. - επίθεση, έφοδος, (ιατρ.) κρίση, προσβολή, (μουσ.) ατάκα, ανάκρουση

idioms:

  • under attack    δεχόμενος επίθεση

Italiano (Italian)
assalire, intaccare, aggredire, attacco, attentato, colpo

idioms:

  • bomb attack    attentato dinamitardo
  • line of attack    linea di attacco
  • surprise attack    attacco a sorpresa
  • terrorist attack    attentato terroristico
  • under attack    sotto attacco

Português (Portuguese)
v. - atacar, assaltar, agredir, criticar, combater, acometer
n. - ataque (m), doença (f) repentina, investida (f), agressão (f)

idioms:

  • bomb attack    ataque a bomba
  • heart attack    ataque do coração (Med.)
  • line of attack    linha (f) de ataque
  • surprise attack    ataque surpresa
  • terrorist attack    ataque terrorista
  • under attack    sob ataque

Русский (Russian)
атаковать, напасть, поразить, наносить удар по, нападение, нападки, приступ, передний край (спорт)

idioms:

  • bomb attack    бомбардировка
  • heart attack    сердечный приступ
  • line of attack    линия нападения
  • surprise attack    внезапное нападение, застающее врасплох
  • terrorist attack    террористический акт
  • under attack    под ударом

Español (Spanish)
v. tr. - atacar, luchar, combatir, afectar, asaltar
v. intr. - participar de un ataque, agresión, asalto o atentado
n. - ataque, agresión, atentado

idioms:

  • under attack    bajo ataque

Svenska (Swedish)
v. - anfalla, angripa
n. - anfall, angrepp

中文(简体)(Chinese (Simplified))
动手处理, 抨击, 攻击, 袭击, 进攻, 发作, 开始, 着手

idioms:

  • under attack    受到攻击

中文(繁體)(Chinese (Traditional))
v. tr. - 動手處理, 抨擊, 攻擊
v. intr. - 襲擊, 進攻
n. - 攻擊, 發作, 抨擊, 開始, 著手

idioms:

  • under attack    受到攻擊

한국어 (Korean)
v. tr. - 공격하다, 착수하다
v. intr. - 공격하다
n. - 공격 , 비난, 발병

idioms:

  • under attack    공격을 받아

日本語 (Japanese)
v. - 攻撃する, 非難する, 取り組む, 冒す
n. - 攻撃, 非難, 発病, 着手

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(فعل) يهاجم, يتهجم على, يشن هجوما (الاسم) نوبه, هجوم‏

עברית (Hebrew)
v. tr. - ‮התקיף, תקף‬
v. intr. - ‮נמצא במצב תקיפה‬
n. - ‮התקף, פיגוע, התקפה, גישה, פתיחה (מוסיקלית)‬


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