assailant

noun

as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt 

plural assailants

: a person who attacks someone violently

an assault by an unknown assailant

She could identify the assailant and his two accomplices, and she wanted to press charges.

—Jennifer Baumgardner

Detectives speculated that she may have been punched on the chin, perhaps knocked unconscious by her assailant.

—Joseph Wambaugh

Synonyms of assailant

• attacker
• assaulter

Examples of assailant in a Sentence

the darkness prevented me from getting a good look at my assailant

Recent Examples on the Web

Yet, so many of them can’t speak publicly about their assailant or even confide in their parents about what happened to them. — Gretchen Carlson, New York Daily News, 2 Oct. 2026

During the struggle the cockpit door was opened, allowing other passengers to rush in, subdue his assailant, and take control of the plane that was enroute to Tel Aviv. — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 1 Oct. 2026

Henriette Reker, who served two terms as the mayor of Cologne, Germany, until last year, survived an assassination attempt, in 2015, by a far-right assailant angry about migration. — Ishaan Tharoor, New Yorker, 30 Sep. 2026

Sadiq said two attackers detonated explosives inside the compound Saturday morning and that police had killed six assailants so far, not including the bombers. — Arkansas Online, 20 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1523, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for assailant

• covalent
• divalent
• inhalant
• hexavalent
• monovalent
• multivalent
• pentavalent
• polyvalent
• tetravalent
• univalent

Legal Definition

assailant

noun

as·​sail·​ant ə-ˈsā-lənt 

: a person who commits criminal assault