attacking

verb

present participle of attack
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

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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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms
3
as in tackling
to start work on energetically Courtney attacked the huge mess in her room with determination and enthusiasm

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of attacking Generally, these hunters do not start attacking cells unless there is a reason to do so, such as inflammation, a key marker of infection. — Paul Sisson, San Diego Union-Tribune, 31 Aug. 2026 For example, Way of the Sword rewards defensive play in the form of Issen, powerful counterattacks that are triggered by attacking before an enemy strikes. — Zackery Cuevas, PC Magazine, 31 Aug. 2026 Eight in 10 Americans believe attacking Iran increased the cost of gas and groceries, and a majority disapprove of the war in Iran according to a new UMass Amherst Poll. — Swapna Venugopal Ramaswamy, USA Today, 31 Aug. 2026 To be sure, Iran is still attacking ships, but that hasn’t been enough to stop traffic. — Jason Ma, Fortune, 30 Aug. 2026 Tehran is already attacking commercial shipping, contesting passage through Hormuz and relying on the Houthis to keep pressure on maritime traffic in the Red Sea. — Hamidreza Azizi, Time, 29 Aug. 2026 On the last day of February, the US and Israel launched a war on Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and attacking targets across the country. — Mick Krever, CNN Money, 29 Aug. 2026 In August 2025, he was charged with four felonies after allegedly attacking police officers while walking naked through the streets of Los Angeles. — Mitchell Peters, Billboard, 29 Aug. 2026 That deal fell apart within weeks after Iran started attacking ships. — ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attacking
  1. assaulting
  2. slamming
  3. tackling
  4. raiding
  5. scolding
  6. approaching
  7. storming
  8. abusing
Verb
  • Dad is an abusive alcoholic, prone to berating and even assaulting his daughter in front of guests, of which Vangelio is currently the only one.
    — Guy Lodge, Variety, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The man is being charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle, obstructing a peace officer and assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, according to Windsor Police.
    — Natalie Davies, Freep.com, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • Meanwhile, Talarico is barnstorming the state, slamming Republicans mostly on kitchen table issues like stubborn inflation and the price of gas that has skyrocketed due to Trump’s war with Iran.
    — Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 28 Aug. 2026
  • There was little time for anyone to flee as flash floods decimated villages, slamming into houses, roads, bridges and power plants.
    — Megan De Mar, CBS News, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of slamming
Verb
  • But beyond tackling dryness and dehydration, more active body lotions have ingredients—like peptides and retinol—that target specific concerns associated with aging skin.
    — Jenny Berg, Vogue, 31 Aug. 2026
  • Similar efforts to make quantum hardware more resilient include quantum chips designed to verify their own hardware, showing how reliability is becoming a problem that researchers are tackling at several levels.
    — Rupendra Brahambhatt, Interesting Engineering, 29 Aug. 2026
Definition of tackling
Verb
  • College sports’ current arms race of money, along with unrestricted transfers, is threatening to shut out rising challengers like UConn football, with rich teams now dangling lucrative offers and raiding talent like never before.
    — U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal, Hartford Courant, 24 Aug. 2026
  • Check it out… ‘Ruthless Podcast’ dives into Swalwell’s Fang Fang scandal and the FBI raiding his home.
    — , FOXNews.com, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of raiding
Verb
  • Rather than scolding parents about screens, society could do more to support families in ways that obviate the need for screen time.
    — Olga Khazan, The Atlantic, 3 Aug. 2026
  • Do not punish your dog by scolding or yelling at them, as this may make your dog's behavior worse out of fear or stress.
    — Madeline Gunderson, USA Today, 28 July 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • The bottom line is that GPC has done a good job of bottoming this year, forming a bullish pattern, outperforming its major peers, and approaching a potential breakout from a multi-year relative downtrend versus XLY.
    — Frank Cappelleri, CNBC, 26 Aug. 2026
  • Surveillance video from the Cedar Glenn complex showed Brunson, Newman, and another unnamed co-defendant jumping a fence, approaching a Chevrolet Suburban, and fleeing after being confronted by a witness.
    — Ana Maria Soler, CBS News, 26 Aug. 2026
Definition of approaching
Verb
  • Or what about storming the field, the tradition that follows a momentous win, when order dissolves and players brace themselves for a horde of fans pouring out of the stands.
    — Ira Gorawara, New York Times, 23 Aug. 2026
  • That’s been the story of this third season, one that started with Rhaenyra storming the castle and taking the Iron Throne and then promptly saw her get picked apart by dozens of unforeseen calamities.
    — Brian Grubb, Vulture, 10 Aug. 2026
Definition of storming
Verb
  • Communities from Lansing, Michigan, to Pflugerville, Texas, are ending their relationship with Flock, largely over concerns regarding out-of-control surveillance, unwanted data sharing, high expenses, and reports of police abusing the tool.
    — Cyrus Farivar, ArsTechnica, 28 Aug. 2026
  • Countless cops, meanwhile, are abusing the cameras to stalk women.
    — Frank Landymore, Futurism, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of abusing

Browse Nearby Words

attackers
attacking
attacks
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Cite this Entry

“Attacking.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/attacking. Accessed 2 Sep. 2026.

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