mindmap root((攻击)) attack implies the initiation of action, often sudden and violent: sustained running ~ resulting in an early touchdown. aggression stresses a lack of provocation and a desire for conquest or domination, chiefly by military invasion of another's territory: pledged never to fight a war of ~. offense characterizes the position or methods of the attackers with specific reference to their desire for supremacy: went on the ~ to gain as much ground as possible. offensive implies vigorously aggressive action, especially in war, or it denotes a particular episode marked by such action: launched an economic ~ to stave off a recession. attack whether on person or character, suggests animosity or enmity as its cause but may imply such motives as cruelty, partisanship, or criticism: a speech ~ing governmental policies. assault implies more violence and malice or viciousness and often the infliction of greater damage than attack, sometimes with specific legal or military connotations: a victim of a brutal ~. onslaught suggests a vigorous, destructive attempt to overwhelm by force of momentum or number or intensity: succumbed to the ~ of the disease. onset applies both to the initial attack and to any successive renewal of vigor in the attack: troops preparing for a fresh ~ from the enemy.