1
as in assaulting
to take sudden, violent action against
our dog unexpectedly attacked the mailman, sinking his teeth into the startled man's leg
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
2
as in slamming
to criticize harshly and usually publicly
the mayor and all his aides were attacked mercilessly in the press when the scandal erupted
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tackling
to start work on energetically
Courtney attacked the huge mess in her room with determination and enthusiasm
Synonyms & Similar Words
Antonyms & Near Antonyms
Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of attacking
The inmate accused of fatally attacking prison guard Andrew Lansing on Christmas Day was issued a misconduct report in April for making threats, according to Lansing's brother and the prison guard union.
—
Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 27 Dec. 2024
The two attacking players could only be registered once a unique loophole opened up via long-term injuries to center backs Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo was exploited by the Catalans.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
And all up and down the 800-mile front line in western Russia and northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian troops are attacking.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
But future opponents will surely seek to incorporate elements of the defensive blueprint which helped Everton and Fulham derail Chelsea’s attacking momentum.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Adding depth to their attacking arsenal will be the primary focus.
—Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Sorting that forward line out so that, as with the past two seasons, Wrexham possess the attacking threat required to win another promotion.
—Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Losing Fernandes did not just dampen United’s attacking potential but also left Semedo and Goncalo Guedes free to attack Diogo Dalot without any protection.
—Elias Burke, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
But the defenses have steadily become more capable, and in November brought down some 95% of the attacking drones with gunfire, missiles, and, increasingly, electronic warfare jamming.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Laura A. Bischoff, The Enquirer, 27 Dec. 2024
The two attacking players could only be registered once a unique loophole opened up via long-term injuries to center backs Andreas Christensen and Ronald Araujo was exploited by the Catalans.
—Tom Sanderson, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
And all up and down the 800-mile front line in western Russia and northern, eastern and southern Ukraine, Russian troops are attacking.
—David Axe, Forbes, 27 Dec. 2024
But future opponents will surely seek to incorporate elements of the defensive blueprint which helped Everton and Fulham derail Chelsea’s attacking momentum.
—Liam Twomey, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
Adding depth to their attacking arsenal will be the primary focus.
—Paul Taylor, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Sorting that forward line out so that, as with the past two seasons, Wrexham possess the attacking threat required to win another promotion.
—Richard Sutcliffe, The Athletic, 26 Dec. 2024
Losing Fernandes did not just dampen United’s attacking potential but also left Semedo and Goncalo Guedes free to attack Diogo Dalot without any protection.
—Elias Burke, The Athletic, 27 Dec. 2024
But the defenses have steadily become more capable, and in November brought down some 95% of the attacking drones with gunfire, missiles, and, increasingly, electronic warfare jamming.
—David Hambling, Forbes, 24 Dec. 2024
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attacking
Verb
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The men allegedly took turns assaulting Doe while the female celebrity watched.—
Cheyenne Roundtree,
Rolling Stone,
8 Jan. 2025
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In another setback, Le Pen lost his European Parliament seat in 2002 for a year for assaulting a Socialist politician during a 1997 election campaign.—
Thomas Adamson,
Los Angeles Times,
7 Jan. 2025
Verb
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Hundreds of drones being used as part of a Saturday night aerial light show in Lake Eola Park in downtown Orlando appeared to be flying into position before several started falling from the sky before slamming to the ground, according to videos posted online.—
Louis Casiano,
Fox News,
23 Dec. 2024
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His endorsement of the AfD came alongside a video of a far-right German commentator slamming the leading candidate to become Germany’s next chancellor, the conservative Friedrich Merz.—
Laura Kelly,
The Hill,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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The study underscores the importance of tackling the obesity epidemic, with one billion individuals projected to be living with obesity by 2030, according to the World Obesity Federation.—
Omer Awan,
Forbes,
24 Dec. 2024
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According to its website, RIC has diverse research teams, each tackling unique challenges in robotics and AI.—
Jijo Malayil,
Interesting Engineering,
23 Dec. 2024
Verb
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In other words, if the board finds the union does not represent the players, especially without substantively addressing the legal question of whether the players are employees within the meaning of the NLRA, the matter would likely end there.—
Michael McCann,
Sportico.com,
31 Dec. 2024
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Any partnership or sponsorship agreement must include specific provisions addressing TikTok unavailability.—
Ian Shepherd,
Forbes,
31 Dec. 2024
Verb
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There were other chances, goals ruled out, Murphy striking the crossbar, and then Joelinton gilded the scoreline after intercepting a pass out from Amadou Onana that straddled negligence and criminality.—
George Caulkin,
The Athletic,
27 Dec. 2024
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In a wide-ranging interview with NPR, Governor Maher Marwan, 42, said that Syria's new government did not want to seek conflict with Israel, which has been striking strategic military installations in Syria since the regime of former President Bashar al-Assad fell earlier this month.—
Hadeel Al-Shalchi,
NPR,
27 Dec. 2024
Verb
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Finally, Assad’s fall has fueled domestic discontent among loyalists to the regime in Tehran, with some calling the loss a strategic blunder and openly criticizing the government on state television.—
Hamidreza Azizi,
Foreign Affairs,
23 Dec. 2024
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Shiney-Ajay said Harris should have spent additional time criticizing lawmakers—like Manchin and Congressional Republicans—who limited the administration's climate goals, using it as a chance to emphasize her intent to seek greater climate victories in the future.—
Alex J. Rouhandeh,
Newsweek,
23 Dec. 2024
Verb
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One of Mangione’s attorneys told a judge that government officials, including New York Mayor Eric Adams, have turned Mangione into a political pawn, robbing him of his rights as a defendant and tainting the jury pool.—
Michael R. Sisak and Jake Offenhartz,
Los Angeles Times,
23 Dec. 2024
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Cops have arrested a motorist accused of attacking and robbing an NYPD traffic enforcement agent of his electronic summons book after getting a ticket on a busy Queens street, police said Friday.—
Thomas Tracy,
New York Daily News,
20 Dec. 2024
Verb
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This was, of course, while the tablet was plugged in and its fans were blasting on Turbo mode.—
Antonio G. Di Benedetto,
The Verge,
7 Jan. 2025
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Louisville blasting Virginia by 20 points on the road was eyebrow-raising but hardly affirming.—
CJ Moore,
The Athletic,
6 Jan. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Attacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attacking. Accessed 3 Apr. 2025.
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