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 In July, Brown pleaded guilty to a count of affray at London’s Southwark Crown Court for attacking a music producer with a tequila bottle on the head. — Leo Barraclough, Variety, 26 Oct. 2026 The approval of Revolution Medicines’ pancreatic cancer drug Rasonque earlier this year showed that a medicine capable of attacking mutations in a group of genes called RAS could prolong survival for patients with the particularly aggressive cancer. — Adam Feuerstein, STAT, 26 Oct. 2026 Russia is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity by intentionally attacking civilian infrastructure – including vital energy systems – in Ukraine, an independent UN investigations panel said on Monday. — Ivana Kottasová, CNN Money, 26 Oct. 2026 Continue reading … HATE PROBE — NYC rabbi stabbing suspect accused of attacking another Jewish man hours earlier. — FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 2026 Trump spent a bit of his roughly 90-minute speech boosting the candidates, mostly by attacking their Democratic opponents. — Christopher Spata, Miami Herald, 24 Oct. 2026 Trump has also told Kyiv to stop attacking Russian refineries and urged Ukrainians to replace Zelenskyy. — Reuters, NBC news, 23 Oct. 2026 Researchers constructed a hollow fiber membrane lined on the outside with palladium nanoparticles rather than attacking PFAS in open water. — Mrigakshi Dixit, Interesting Engineering, 19 Oct. 2026 And so the reason that the settlers stopped attacking Heidi is that they were forced to retreat. — Isaac Chotiner, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for attacking
  1. assaulting
  2. slamming
  3. tackling
  4. raiding
  5. scolding
  6. approaching
  7. storming
  8. abusing
Verb
  • Federal prosecutors charged him with assaulting the agent, then dropped the case in February.
    — Ashley Grams, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Stokes’ wife, former Hot 97 radio personality and employee TT Torrez, has also spoken out against the incident, issuing a statement through a representative accusing Funk Flex of physically assaulting her during the altercation with her husband.
    — Preezy Brown, Rolling Stone, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • The familyâs legal team filed complaints targeting Iranian officials who bankrolled Hamas, slamming the ICC for double standards and demanding arrest warrants for the regime bosses backing the atrocity.
    — Staff, FOXNews.com, 22 Oct. 2026
  • Alex Alvarado’s political action committee is behind the texts slamming Rodriguez in an apparent effort to help Republican Attorney General James Uthmeier stay in office.
    — Annie Martin, The Orlando Sentinel, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of slamming
Verb
  • Rain that turned into the season's first significant snow, accompanied by strong wind, complicated the already difficult task of tackling the blaze and firefighters had to pull out overnight after several hours, officials said.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Compassion doesn’t mean that presidents or other public officials should bow to enemies or surrender common sense in tackling the world’s harsh realities.
    — Kathleen Parker, Washington Post, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of tackling
Verb
  • An increasing number of Americans are raiding their retirement funds to tackle debt.
    — Carson Brunson, CNBC, 12 Oct. 2026
  • Preventing undesirable baboon behaviour, like raiding food, is easier than trying to tackle it once it’s become engrained.
    — Will Barker, TheWeek, 5 Oct. 2026
Definition of raiding
Verb
  • From behind a tree, Neil and Florence observed Brenda scolding little Neil.
    — S. M. Reznik, New Yorker, 19 Oct. 2026
  • By the time his daughter shows up, flanked by her mom and upright dentist stepdad, Lee’s moved on from scolding the room to thanking his mother for believing him.
    — Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of scolding
Verb
  • Angle of attack refers to the angle between an aircraft wing and the airflow approaching it.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 21 Oct. 2026
  • With midterm elections and the holiday season approaching, more prospective issuers could opt to wait until early 2027.
    — Morgan Chittum, Fortune, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of approaching
Verb
  • Protests last week devolved into mayhem, with people setting fires, storming public buildings, smashing shop windows, looting and clashing with police.
    — ELITSA GADEVA, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Only rarely do the dignified characters allow their emotions to come storming out.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 23 Oct. 2026
Definition of storming
Verb
  • In an earlier episode, Pam confronts Grace’s mother about abusing her daughter and ends up bashing in the woman’s head with a meat tenderizer — which sounds like a pivotal moment but plays more like a side quest.
    — Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The former owner of several unlicensed North Texas boarding homes pleaded guilty Monday to financially abusing and fatally neglecting elderly and disabled people in her care, according to court filings.
    — Lillie Davidson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of abusing

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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 27 Oct. 2026.

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