assailant

noun

as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt How to pronounce assailant (audio)
plural assailants
: a person who attacks someone violently
an assault by an unknown assailant
She could identify the assailant and his two accomplices, and she wanted to press charges.Jennifer Baumgardner
Detectives speculated that she may have been punched on the chin, perhaps knocked unconscious by her assailant.Joseph Wambaugh

Examples of assailant in a Sentence

the darkness prevented me from getting a good look at my assailant
Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Then another potential assailant emerged that his campaign was ready to talk about. Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 4 Oct. 2024 Moments later, the assailant shot Marlene in the mouth and calmly walked to the LeBaron parked in the driveway and drove off. Kc Baker, People.com, 4 Nov. 2024 But though the home’s master bedroom was ransacked, the assailants never took the hair mogul’s valuable watch on his wrist, piquing the interest of detectives, said then-Robbery Homicide Division Capt. Billy Hayes. Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 31 Oct. 2024 At the same time, Ani’s defiant refusal to warm to her assailant feeds into another rom-com formula: the love story that flowers out of an adversarial relationship. A.a. Dowd, Vulture, 25 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for assailant 

Word History

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of assailant was in 1523

Dictionary Entries Near assailant

Cite this Entry

“Assailant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assailant. Accessed 23 Nov. 2024.

Legal Definition

assailant

noun
as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt How to pronounce assailant (audio)
: a person who commits criminal assault

More from Merriam-Webster on assailant

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!