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assaillir

to assail

verb ah-sah-YEER Rare
People & Society Military

Origin: Latin assalire (to leap upon)

Also means

to attack

Usage Note

Assaillir is an irregular verb conjugated like tressaillir — present: j'assaille, tu assailles, il assaille. It is used both literally (to physically attack) and figuratively — assailli de questions ('bombarded with questions'), assailli de doutes ('beset by doubts'). Primarily literary in register.

Examples

"Il a été assailli par des doutes."

Natural Translation

He was assailed by doubts.

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