Meanings
plural assailants
- Someone who attacks or assails another violently, or criminally.
I’ll put myself in poor and mean attire, And with a kind of umber smirch my face; The like do you; so shall we pass along, And never stir assailants.
c. 1598–1600 (date written), William Shakespeare, “As You Like It”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act I, scene iii]4 more examples
[…] commonly some of us used to get up a tree to look out for any assailant, or kidnapper, that might come upon us; for they sometimes took those opportunities of our parents absence to attack and carry off as many as they could seize.
1789, Olaudah Equiano, chapter 2, in The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano, volume 1, London: for the author, page 47[…] just as he leaned over to get the stick, I seized him with both hands by the collar, and, with a vigorous and sudden snatch, I brought my assailant harmlessly, his full length, on the not over clean ground—for we were now in the cow yard.
1855, Frederick Douglass, chapter 17, in My Bondage and My Freedom. […], New York; Auburn, N.Y.: Miller, Orton & Mulligan […], →OCLC, part I (Life as a Slave), page 244In the middle of a crowded street a young man would be attacked, stripped, thrashed, and left bleeding on the pavement; in fifteen seconds it was all over and the assailants had disappeared.
1935, Christopher Isherwood, chapter 8, in Mr. Norris Changes Trains, Penguin, published 1961, page 89In the village of Aqraba, the Sheikh Saadeh Mosque was set on fire before the assailants graffitied the words “price tag” and “revenge” on its walls.
2018, Edo Konrad, “Living in the constant shadow of settler violence”, in +972 MagazineSynonyms: attacker
- not comparableAssailing; attacking.
1 more example
But he though blind of sight, / Despis'd, and thought extinguish'd quite, / With inward eyes illuminated, / His fiery virtue roused / From under ashes into sudden flame, / And as an evening dragon came, / Assailant on the perched roosts / And nests in order ranged / Of tame villatic fowl, but as an eagle / His cloudless thunder bolted on their heads.
1671, John Milton, Samson Agonistes, line 1687 to 1696
Synonyms & antonyms
nounSomeone who attacks or assails another violently, or criminally.
More synonyms by meaning
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Latinad“to, towards”
- Late Latinassalīre
- Old Frenchassaillant
- Englishassailant
From Old French assaillant, from the verb assaillir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“to, towards”) + salīre (“to jump”). Equivalent to assail + -ant.
More words from Old French, Late Latin, Latin
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Arabic مُهَاجِم, مُعْتَدٍ
- مُهَاجِم (muhājim)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- مُعْتَدٍ (muʕtadin)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Bulgarian нападател
- нападател (napadatel)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Catalan assaltador
- assaltadoran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Chinese Mandarin 攻擊者 /攻击者
- 攻擊者 /攻击者 (gōngjīzhě, gōngjízhě)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Czech útočník
- útočníkan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Danish overfaldsmand, angriber
- overfaldsmandan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- angriberan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Dutch aanrander
- aanranderan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Finnish hyökkääjä, päällekarkaaja
- hyökkääjäan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- päällekarkaajaan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
French agresseur, assaillant
- agresseuran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- assaillantan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
German Angreifer, Angreiferin
- Angreiferan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- Angreiferinan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Hungarian támadó
- támadóan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Icelandic árásarmaður
- árásarmaðuran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Italian assalitore, assalitrice
- assalitorean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- assalitricean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- aggressorean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- aggreditricean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Japanese 加害者
- 加害者 (kagaisha)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Korean 가해자
- 가해자 (gahaeja)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Latin oppugnātor
- oppugnātoran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Māori kaihuaki, kaipatu
- kaihuakian attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- kaipatuan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- kaiuruhian attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Norwegian overfallsmann
- overfallsmannan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Norwegian Bokmål angriper
- angriperan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Polish napastnik, agresor
- napastnikan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- agresoran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- atakującyan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- napadającyan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Portuguese agressor
- agressoran attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Russian напада́ющий, напа́вший
- напада́ющий (napadájuščij)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- напа́вший (napávšij)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- агре́ссор (agréssor)an attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Spanish asaltante, atacante
- asaltantean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
- atacantean attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Turkish saldırgan
- saldırganan attacker; someone who attacks another violently, or criminally
Cite this entry
assailant. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assailant
“assailant.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assailant. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “assailant,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assailant.
Source: assailant on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.