Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

onslaught

/ˈɔnsloːt/

Word Rarity Rare

Frequency: Zipf frequency 3.20 in modern English

Syllables: on-slaught
IPA: /ˈɔnsloːt/

13

Scrabble Score

9

Letters

2

Syllables

9

Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

A fierce attack.

noun

A large number of people or things resembling an attack.

Example Sentences

"They opened the doors and prepared for the onslaught of holiday shoppers."
"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."

Etymology

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.

Word Breakdown

Root: aenslag

Regional Pronunciation

American English: /ˈɔnsloːt/
British English: /ˈɒn.slɔːt/

Inflected Forms

onslaughts (plural) anslaight (alternative)

Derived Forms

onslaughter

Frequently Paired Words

slew

Synonyms

onrush attack onset barrage bombardment outpouring

Questions

How do you pronounce onslaught?: The recorded pronunciation is /ˈɔnsloːt/.
What does onslaught mean?: A fierce attack.
Where does onslaught come from?: 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.

How to pronounce onslaught

Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “onslaught”.
Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling (/ˈɔnsloːt/) so you know which sounds to aim for.
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