setting on

verb

Definition of setting onnext
present participle of set on
as in attacking
to take sudden, violent action against without warning, bandits would set on unwary merchants as they traveled along the Silk Road

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Examples Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for setting on
  1. attacking
  2. assaulting
  3. striking
Verb
  • The moves sparked a wave of opprobrium from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which accused Israel of attacking Syria’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.
    Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 11 Dec. 2024
  • It was inspired by the Central Park Five, the name given to the Black and Latino teen-agers who in 1989 were wrongly accused of attacking and raping a white woman in Central Park.
    Calvin Tomkins, The New Yorker, 9 Dec. 2024
Definition of attacking
Verb
  • The Alexanders also procured drugs, including GHB and cocaine, and would sometimes spike women's drinks before assaulting them, the indictment said.
    Aaron Katersky, ABC News, 11 Dec. 2024
  • He was also convicted of assaulting a child over an eight-year period between 2010 and 2018.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 11 Dec. 2024
Definition of assaulting
Verb
  • Last year’s winner was an image of a female western gray kangaroo striking an air guitar pose, taken by photographer Jason Moore early one morning in a wildflower field in the suburbs of Perth, Australia.
    Jack Guy, CNN, 11 Dec. 2024
  • To give a sense of scale, the researchers produced an image of all that plastic waste if it were piled atop Manhattan, and the image is striking.
    Joseph Epstein, Newsweek, 10 Dec. 2024
Definition of striking
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Thesaurus Entries Near setting on

setting off

setting on

setting one's heart on

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Setting on.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/setting%20on. Accessed 17 Dec. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

Point of View: It's Personal

Plural and Possessive Names: A Guide

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Words You Always Have to Look Up
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

More Words with Remarkable Origins

8 Words for Lesser-Known Musical Instruments

Birds Say the Darndest Things

10 Words from Taylor Swift Songs (Merriam's Version)

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
confused man standing between two doors
One Word or Two? Take the Quiz! Some words just need a little space.