Synonyms of attacked

attacked

verb

past tense of attack

1

as in assaulted

to take sudden, violent action against

our dog unexpectedly attacked the mailman, sinking his teeth into the startled man's leg

Synonyms & Similar Words

• assaulted
• raided
• stormed
• struck
• ambushed
• robbed
• charged
• swarmed
• invaded
• assailed
• rushed
• set at
• turned (on)
• descended (on or upon)
• set on
• bushwhacked
• beset
• jumped (on)
• trashed
• set upon
• went in (on)
• flew at
• rounded on
• surprised
• pounced (on or upon)
• sicced
• went at
• bombed
• flanked
• pitched into
• besieged
• sacked
• tore into
• mobbed
• lit into
• waylaid
• bombarded
• mugged
• beat up on
• blitzed
• plundered
• ravaged
• battered
• looted
• nuked
• buffeted
• ganged up (on)
• barraged
• pillaged
• bum-rushed
• beleaguered
• ambuscaded
• plastered
• cannonaded
• overran
• enveloped
• pressed
• harried
• cannoned
• banged away (at)
• forayed

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• protected
• covered
• secured
• defended
• guarded
• shielded

2

as in slammed

to criticize harshly and usually publicly

the mayor and all his aides were attacked mercilessly in the press when the scandal erupted

Synonyms & Similar Words

• slammed
• scolded
• abused
• criticized
• blasted
• assailed
• insulted
• savaged
• harassed
• excoriated
• bashed
• cursed
• jumped (on)
• lambasted
• castigated
• trashed
• scathed
• tied into
• vituperated
• berated
• sailed into
• reprimanded
• belabored
• reviled
• lit into
• harangued
• potshot
• affronted
• blasphemed
• beat up on
• disparaged
• slandered
• whipped
• harried
• vilified
• belittled
• libeled
• execrated
• chastised
• profaned
• rebuked
• slurred
• traduced
• aspersed
• imprecated
• fulminated
• laced (into)
• lashed (out)
• bad-mouthed
• blackguarded
• chid
• put down

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• praised
• commended
• hailed
• acclaimed
• complimented
• lauded

3

as in tackled

to start work on energetically

Courtney attacked the huge mess in her room with determination and enthusiasm

Synonyms & Similar Words

• tackled
• approached
• undertook
• addressed
• had at
• pursued
• waded (in or into)
• dived (into)
• went at
• sailed into
• tore into
• faced
• pitched into
• focused (on)
• fell (to)
• settled (down)
• concentrated (on)
• lit into
• plunged (in)
• buckled (down to)
• pitched in
• zeroed (in on)
• knuckled down (to)
• took up

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

• avoided
• evaded
• shunned
• played
• poked
• fooled
• lagged
• messed
• idled
• trifled
• dawdled
• fiddled (around)
• dallied
• puttered (around)
• pottered (around)
• dillydallied
• monkeyed (around)

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of attacked

Russia's Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Ukraine attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but air defenses fended off the attacks. — Hanna Arhirova, Arkansas Online, 3 Oct. 2026

Trust took another nosedive when OpenAI’s agents attacked Hugging Face this summer and, in a world-first, a rogue model hacked the Australian Government’s website. — Yerbol Orynbayev, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2026

Russia’s Deputy Prime Minister Alexander Novak said Friday that Ukraine attacked four Russian oil refineries overnight, but air defenses fended off the attacks and key equipment wasn’t damaged. — ABC News, 2 Oct. 2026

The repeat violent offender that attacked multiple women in Dilworth should have never been on the streets. — Mary Ramsey, Charlotte Observer, 2 Oct. 2026

Draycott said Choi was then attacked with the hammer inside the vehicle. — Chris Lau, CNN Money, 2 Oct. 2026

Lopez then attacked Hager, grabbing his holster, and the two men fought over the deputy’s service weapon, according to the arrest report. — David Goodhue, Miami Herald, 2 Oct. 2026

But in July, Saudi Arabia attacked the airport in the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, to prevent the landing of an Iranian plane carrying high-ranking Houthi officials. — Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 2 Oct. 2026

Soon after, Anthropic revealed that its own stress testers attacked three companies too. — Steven Zeitchik, HollywoodReporter, 25 Sep. 2026