What does attacked mean?
"Attacked" is the past tense and past participle of the verb "attack," meaning to have launched a violent or aggressive action against a person, place, or thing. Its most common use is military or physical: armies attacked cities, animals attacked prey, or diseases attacked the body. It is equally at home in figurative contexts, where critics attacked a policy, lawyers attacked a witness's credibility, or commentators attacked an opponent's argument. A further sense describes tackling a task with vigor, as in she attacked the problem head-on. The word carries strongly forceful connotations, suggesting aggression, confrontation, or intensity rather than neutral action. Derived ultimately through Old French and Italian from a Germanic root, it entered English in the early seventeenth century and remains one of the language's core verbs for expressing hostility or determined effort.
verbPast tense and past participle of "attack"; to have taken aggressive military or violent action against someone or something.
- To have used violence or armed force against (a person, place, or target).
- To have criticized someone or something strongly, especially in speech or writing.
- To have begun work on a task with energy and determination.
"The army attacked the fortress at dawn, catching the defenders unprepared."
"Enemy forces attacked the coastal town under cover of darkness."
"In her review, she attacked the novel for its weak characterization."
Despite its violent meaning, "attack" shares deep roots with the gentle word "attach" — both trace back to the same Germanic root that also gave us "tackle."
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Etymology of attacked
"Attack" entered English in the early seventeenth century, borrowed from French attaquer, which itself came from Italian attaccare. The Italian verb originally meant to fasten or join, and its shift toward "to assail" likely arose through the notion of engaging or closing with an enemy. Remarkably, this makes "attack" closely related to the everyday words "attach," "tack," and "tackle," all tracing back to the same Germanic root that passed into Romance languages.
Related word forms
How attacked is actually used
"Attacked" is standard in both formal and informal registers across British and American English. In journalistic contexts it frequently appears in the figurative sense of strong verbal criticism rather than physical violence, so surrounding context usually clarifies which sense is intended.
Easily confused with attacked
"Attached" means fastened or connected to something, while "attacked" means subjected to violence or criticism.