Assail has a number of meanings relating to violent or powerful confrontations. It can be a straightforward synonym of assault, as in "assailed by armed robbers," or it can mean "to oppose, challenge, or criticize harshly and forcefully," as in "citizens assailing the proposed changes." It can also mean "to trouble or afflict in a way that threatens to overwhelm," as in "assailed by fears." Assail can also apply to powerful perceptions: a smell that assails you, for example, is strongly noticeable and usually unpleasant. Occasionally, assail is used to mean "to encounter, undertake, or confront energetically," as in "with a deadline fast approaching, we assailed the project with renewed vigor."

// Most worthwhile achievements require that one persevere even when assailed by doubts.

See the entry >

"What does it even mean to be good in a world as complex as ours, when great inequity remains unaddressed and often seems too daunting to assail, and when seemingly benign choices—which shoes to buy, which fruit to eat—can come with the moral baggage of large carbon footprints or the undercompensated labor of migrant workers?" — Nancy Kaffer, The Detroit (Michigan) Free Press, 9 Jan. 2020