attack - Wordage.info - Free Thesaurus Tool for Word Discovery - Expanded Thesaurus, Reverse Dictionary Lookup

attack: a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase; an offensive move in a sport or game; "they won the game with a 10-hit attack in the 9th inning"; the act of attacking; "attacks on women increased last year"; "they made an attempt on his life"; (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons); "the attack began at dawn"; strong criticism; "he published an unexpected attack on my work"; the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent); "the film was sensitive to attack by acids"; "open to attack by the elements"; a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition; "an attack of diarrhea"; begin to injure; "The cancer cells are attacking his liver"; "Rust is attacking the metal"; set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task; "I attacked the problem as soon as I got out of bed"; attack in speech or writing; "The editors of the left-leaning paper attacked the new House Speaker"; take the initiative and go on the offensive; "The Serbs attacked the village at night"; "The visiting team started to attack"; launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with; "Hitler attacked Poland on September 1, 1939 and started World War II"; "Serbian forces assailed Bosnian towns all week"

counterattack collapse: (chess) an attack that is intended to counter the opponent's advantage in another part of the board; an attack by a defending force against an attacking enemy force in order to regain lost ground or cut off enemy advance units etc.; make a counterattack

sortie collapse: (military) an operational flight by a single aircraft (as in a military operation); a military action in which besieged troops burst forth from their position

breakthrough collapse: making an important discovery; a penetration of a barrier such as an enemy's defense

overkill collapse: any effort that seems to go farther than would be necessary to achieve its goal; the capability to obliterate a target with more weapons (especially nuclear weapons) than are required

aggression collapse: violent action that is hostile and usually unprovoked; deliberately unfriendly behavior; the act of initiating hostilities; a disposition to behave aggressively; a feeling of hostility that arouses thoughts of attack

blitz collapse: a swift and violent military offensive with intensive aerial bombardment; attack suddenly and without warning; "Hitler blitzed Poland"

sally collapse: a venture off the beaten path; "a sally into the wide world beyond his home"

infiltration collapse: a process in which individuals (or small groups) penetrate an area (especially the military penetration of enemy positions without detection)

offense collapse: the action of attacking an enemy; the team that has the ball (or puck) and is trying to score

assault collapse: a threatened or attempted physical attack by someone who appears to be able to cause bodily harm if not stopped; close fighting during the culmination of a military attack; thoroughbred that won the triple crown in 1946

invasion collapse: the act of invading; the act of an army that invades for conquest or plunder; (pathology) the spread of pathogenic microorganisms or malignant cells to new sites in the body; "the tumor's invasion of surrounding structures"; any entry into an area not previously occupied; "an invasion of tourists"; "an invasion of locusts"

raid collapse: an attempt by speculators to defraud investors; search for something needed or desired; "Our babysitter raided our refrigerator"; take over (a company) by buying a controlling interest of its stock; "T. Boone Pickens raided many large companies"; search without warning, make a sudden surprise attack on; "The police raided the crack house"

inroad collapse: an encroachment or intrusion; "they made inroads in the United States market"; an invasion or hostile attack

diversion collapse: a turning aside (of your course or attention or concern); "a diversion from the main highway"; "a digression into irrelevant details"; "a deflection from his goal"; an activity that diverts or amuses or stimulates; "scuba diving is provided as a diversion for tourists"; "for recreation he wrote poetry and solved crossword puzzles"; "drug abuse is often regarded as a form of recreation"; an attack calculated to draw enemy defense away from the point of the principal attack

surprise collapse: the act of surprising someone; a sudden unexpected event; the astonishment you feel when something totally unexpected happens to you; cause to be surprised; "The news really surprised me"; come upon or take unawares; "She surprised the couple"; "He surprised an interesting scene"