attacks
noun · verb
Form of attack , plural of attack.
Simple meaning
An try to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
uhtaksSay the bold part a little louder.
IPA pronunciation (US)
əˈtæks
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
noun
plural of attack
An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
plural of attack
An attempt to detract from the worth or credibility of, a person, position, idea, object, or thing, by physical, verbal, emotional, or other assault.
plural of attackgaming
Any of several specific maneuvers, skills, or special abilities that a character can use to inflict damage against opponents.
plural of attack
A time in which one attacks; the offence of a battle.
verb
third-person singular of attack
To aggressively challenge a person, idea, etc., with words (particularly in newspaper headlines, because it typesets into less space than "criticize" or similar).
third-person singular of attack
Begin to injure
third-person singular of attack
To begin to affect; to act upon injuriously or destructively; to begin to decompose or waste.
third-person singular of attack
To deal with something in a direct way; to set to work upon.
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: An attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
Used this way, attacks is a reasonably familiar word carrying real weight of difficulty or hurt. It carries more force than its gentler alternatives. It turns up most in personal or emotional discussion and literature or storytelling contexts.
- Emotional tone
- Strongly negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Strong
- How common
- Moderately common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Everyday but emotionally strong
Where it naturally appears
- Personal/emotional discussion
- Literature/storytelling
Usage note
Attacks is emotionally heavy: it suggests deep or lasting feeling, not a passing mood, so it can overstate a small reaction.
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.