ASSAIL • FREE TRANSLATOR.ORG • Definition of Assail

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/əsˈeɪl/ Listen

verb

Assail v. t. (past & past part. assailed; pres. part. assailing)

To attack with violence, or in a vehement and hostile manner; to assault; to molest; as, to assail a man with blows; to assail a city with artillery. "No rude noise mine ears assailing." "No storm can now assail The charm he wears within."

To encounter or meet purposely with the view of mastering, as an obstacle, difficulty, or the like. "The thorny wilds the woodmen fierce assail."

To attack morally, or with a view to produce changes in the feelings, character, conduct, existing usages, institutions; to attack by words, hostile influence, etc.; as, to assail one with appeals, arguments, abuse, ridicule, and the like. "The papal authority... assailed." "They assailed him with keen invective; they assailed him with still keener irony."

Synonyms: To attack; assault; invade; encounter; fall upon. See Attack.

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Etymology of 'Assail'

Collaborative International Dictionary of English 0.48

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"Assail" Quotes from Famous Books

... sunless day went down Over the waste of waters, like a veil Which if withdrawn would but disclose the frown Of one whose hate is mask'd but to assail; Thus to their hopeless eyes the night was shown, And grimly darkled o'er their faces pale And the dim desolate deep; twelve days had Fear Been their familiar, and ...

— Life of Lord Byron, Vol. IV - With His Letters and Journals • Thomas Moore

... which I can throw a little new light upon the situation. I handed the note, as I was ordered to do, to the Dutch Minister, without comment or recommendation. Almost immediately the German-subsidized press in Holland began to assail the Dutch Government for refusing to support President Wilson's note. It seemed to me that this was a falsehood, unjust to Holland, injurious to our Government, which had not asked for support. Therefore I made the following statement to the press on January ...

— Fighting For Peace • Henry Van Dyke

... inherited by their children, who, more-over, were so fed on their father's books—so imbued with them—that one felt sure of their courage, endurance, and virtue, whatever misfortunes or temptations might assail them in this life. ...

— The Martian • George Du Maurier

... me as the author of those charges, and losing sight entirely of that gentleman, selects me as his adversary, and pours out all the vials of his mighty wrath upon my devoted head. Nor is he willing to stop there. He goes on to assail the institutions and policy of the South, and calls in question the principles and conduct of the State which I have the honor to represent. When I find a gentleman of mature age and experience, of acknowledged talents and profound sagacity, ...

— American Eloquence, Volume I. (of 4) - Studies In American Political History (1896) • Various

... of true enjoyment out of doors, as when, under the clear blue sky on the hillside, it seemed as if he "were at work in the sky itself," and he notices the wild flowers coming into the chill world; but, as before at the wharf, so now at his farming, doubts assail his mind whether this manual labor is a satisfactory solution of his difficulties in adjusting himself to the world and opening communication with his fellow-men. The disillusion, if there really ...

— Nathaniel Hawthorne • George E. Woodberry

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