assailverb
uk/əˈseɪl/us/əˈseɪl/formal[ T ] to attack someone violently or criticize someone strongly:
The victim had been assailed with repeated blows to the head and body.
He was assailed with insults and abuse as he left the court.
[ T often passive ] to cause someone to experience a lot of unpleasant things:
to be assailed by doubts/fears/problems
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Disapproving & criticizing
- -basher
- animadversion
- aspersions
- backbite
- bad-mouth
- belabour
- damn
- damn sb with faint praise idiom
- denounce
- dig
- disapproval
- give sb hell idiom
- nagging
- pitch into sb/sth
- pound
- pound away at sth/sb
- pull sth apart
- put the boot in idiom
- take a dim view of sth idiom
- throw
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
Physical & sexual assault & abduction
Occurring and happening