| Library / English Dictionary |
ONSLAUGHT
| Pronunciation (US): |  | (GB): | |
I. (noun)
Sense 1
Meaning:
(military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)
Example:
the attack began at dawn
Synonyms:
attack; onrush; onset; onslaught
Classified under:
Nouns denoting acts or actions
Hypernyms ("onslaught" is a kind of...):
military operation; operation (activity by a military or naval force (as a maneuver or campaign))
Meronyms (parts of "onslaught"):
assault (close fighting during the culmination of a military attack)
Domain category:
armed forces; armed services; military; military machine; war machine (the military forces of a nation)
Hyponyms (each of the following is a kind of "onslaught"):
ground attack (an attack by ground troops)
charge (an impetuous rush toward someone or something)
banzai attack; banzai charge (a mass attack of troops without concern for casualties; originated by Japanese who accompanied it with yells of 'banzai')
diversion; diversionary attack (an attack calculated to draw enemy defense away from the point of the principal attack)
incursion; penetration (an attack that penetrates into enemy territory)
blitz; blitzkrieg (a swift and violent military offensive with intensive aerial bombardment)
strike (an attack that is intended to seize or inflict damage on or destroy an objective)
counterattack; countermove (an attack by a defending force against an attacking enemy force in order to regain lost ground or cut off enemy advance units etc.)
bombardment; bombing (an attack by dropping bombs)
fire; firing (the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy)
strafe (an attack of machine-gun fire or cannon fire from a low flying airplane)
coup de main; surprise attack (an attack without warning)
Sense 2
Meaning:
The rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written)
Example:
a bombardment of mail complaining about his mistake
Synonyms:
barrage; bombardment; onslaught; outpouring
Classified under:
Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents
Hypernyms ("onslaught" is a kind of...):
language; linguistic communication (a systematic means of communicating by the use of sounds or conventional symbols)
Sense 3
Meaning:
A sudden and severe onset of trouble
Classified under:
Hypernyms ("onslaught" is a kind of...):
trouble (an event causing distress or pain)
