Onslaught Meaning
/ˈɒn.slɔːt/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
Listen pronunciation
Definition
nounA fierce attack.
nounA large number of people or things resembling an attack.
Sentence Examples
The defenders checked the onslaught by the attackers.
Spain is reeling under the onslaught of the coronavirus.
CEFR Practice Quiz
The enemy army launched a sudden and powerful ____ of attacks, overwhelming the defenders.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city could not withstand the relentless ____ of the enemy forces and surrendered at dawn.
Word Origin & History
From on- + slaught. Formed after Middle Dutch aenslag, aenslach, equivalent to aen + slag, although slaught corresponds to Middle Dutch slacht; slag is cognate with the English weaving term sley. Compare Dutch aanslag and German Anschlag.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"The inevitable Baggies onslaught followed as substitute Simon Cox saw his strike excellently parried by keeper Bunn, with Cox heading the rebound down into the ground and agonisingly over the bar."
— 2010 December 28, Kevin Darling, “West Brom 1 - 3 Blackburn”, in BBC:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The enemy army launched a sudden and powerful ____ of attacks, overwhelming the defenders.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The city could not withstand the relentless ____ of the enemy forces and surrendered at dawn.