Attacked

Part of speech: verb

Pronunciation: /əˈtækt/

Definitions

1. To have executed an offensive action aimed at inflicting harm on a target
2. To have initiated a forceful confrontation with the intent to cause damage or aggression
3. Performed an act of violence or aggression directed toward a person or object

Etymology: The verb "attack" arrived in English by way of Italian and French, and its origins are a military image: joining a fight. The Italian "attaccare" meant "to join, attach," and the phrase "attaccare battaglia" meant "to join battle." That Italian verb traces back to a Frankish word, "stakkijan," meaning "to stick, stick to," so the same root that gives us "attach" also lies behind the violent sense. English already had its own words for this idea. Old English used "onrǣsan" for "to attack," and Middle English had "resinge" for an assault, but these were displaced by the French-derived term. "Attach" and "attack" are doublets, two English words from one source that took different routes into the language.

Synonyms: assaulted, assailed

Antonyms: defended, protected