as·sail

(ə-sāl′)

tr.v. as·sailed, as·sail·ing, as·sails

1. To attack violently, as with blows or military force; assault.

2. To attack verbally, as with ridicule or censure. See Synonyms at attack.

3. To trouble or beset, as with questions or doubts.

[Middle English assailen, from Old French asalir, asaill-, from Vulgar Latin *assalīre, variant of Latin assilīre, to jump on : ad-, onto; see ad- + salīre, to jump; see sel- in Indo-European roots.]

as·sail′a·ble adj.

as·sail′a·bil′i·ty n.

as·sail′er n.

as·sail′ment n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Adj.

assailable - not defended or capable of being defended; "an open city"; "open to attack"

undefendable, undefended, open

vulnerable - susceptible to attack; "a vulnerable bridge"

assailable

adjective

Open to attack and capture because of a lack of protection:

attackable, pregnable, vincible, vulnerable.

Translations

attaccabile

assailable

adj (lit, fig) → angreifbar

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007