Word a Day
assail
What does assail mean?
assail (verb): to attack with harsh words or violent force.
Definition: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
How do you use assail in a sentence?
- Our ears were assailed by her joyous efforts on her new saxophone. (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0)
How do you pronounce assail?
/əˈseɪl/ (IPA, American English). The app reads every word aloud.
Where does assail come from?
From Middle English assailen, from Old French assaillir, assalir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“at, towards”) + salīre (“jump”).
Etymology: Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.
Words related to assail
From Princeton WordNet 3.1.
Test yourself: do you know “assail”?
Tap an answer to check it. The same questions the app asks.
What does “assail” mean?
destroy completely, as if down to the roots
Not quite: that's what eradicate means.
to fall end over end; to roll over and over
Not quite: that's what tumble means.
to attack with harsh words or violent force
Right! That's what “assail” means.
make more cheerful through the use of color
Not quite: that's what brighten means.
Learn a word like “assail” every day
Word a Day for iPhone quizzes you on a few new words a day and brings each one back for review at growing intervals. Free, no account, no ads.
Coming soon to the App Store