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verb

aggredire

attack

Colpire o fare del male a qualcuno in modo improvviso e violento.

Definition & meaning

Aggredire means to attack or assault, often suddenly or violently.

  • Physical attack: to assault a person or attack an animal.
  • Verbal attack: to confront someone aggressively with words.
  • Figurative use: to attack or tackle something forcefully, such as a problem, or to corrode a material.

Grammar & Word origin

Aggredire is a transitive verb of the third conjugation. Its present tense includes aggredisco, aggredisci and aggredisce; its past participle is aggredito.

It comes from Latin aggredī, meaning “to approach” or “attack,” formed from ad- (“towards”) and gradī (“to step” or “go”).

Synonyms & antonyms

Synonyms:

  • attaccare — “to attack”; broader and less specific about sudden or personal aggression.
  • assalire — “to assault” or “rush at”; often emphasizes a sudden attack.
  • insultare — “to insult”; limited to verbal abuse.

Antonyms:

  • difendere — “to defend,” rather than attack.
  • proteggere — “to protect” someone from harm.

Common phrases & collocations

  • aggredire qualcuno — to assault someone.
  • aggredire verbalmente — to attack someone verbally.
  • aggredire un problema — to tackle a problem forcefully.

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Examples

Il cane ha cercato di aggredire il postino.verb

The dog tried to attack the postman.

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