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Onset

/ˈɒnˌsɛt/

An attack; an assault especially of an army.

📖 Definitions of "Onset"

noun
  1. 1

    An attack; an assault especially of an army.

  2. 2

    The initial phase of a disease or condition, in which symptoms first become apparent.

    "the onset of schizophrenia"

  3. 3

    The initial portion of a syllable, preceding the syllable nucleus.

  4. 4

    (acoustics) The beginning of a musical note or other sound, in which the amplitude rises from zero to an initial peak.

verb
  1. 1

    To assault; to set upon.

  2. 2

    To set about; to begin.

🔄 Synonyms of "Onset"

4 synonyms found via WordNet and Google Books.

WordDefinition
onslaughtnounA fierce attack.
attacknounAn attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
onrushnounA forceful rush or flow forward.
oncomingnounapproaching; coming closer

💡 Words with a Similar Meaning to "Onset"

Found via reverse dictionary — words that share a conceptual meaning.

WordDefinition
attacknounAn attempt to cause damage, injury to, or death of an opponent or enemy.
onslaughtnounA fierce attack.
onrushnounA forceful rush or flow forward.
oncomingnounapproaching; coming closer
rashnoun(dermatology, medicine) An area of inflamed and irritated skin characterized by reddened spots that may be filled with fluid or pus. Also, preceded by a descriptive word (rare or obsolete), an illness characterized by a type of rash.
outbreaknounAn eruption; the sudden appearance of a rash, disease, etc.
flare-upnounA sudden outbreak, outburst or eruption (originally of flame, but now used more generally of any violent activity or emotion).
outburstnounA sudden, often violent expression of emotion or activity.
break-upnounAlternative spelling of breakup. [The act of breaking up; disintegration or division.]
burstnounAn act or instance of bursting.
departurenounThe act of departing or something that has departed.
bootingnoun(computing) The act by which a computer is booted.
emergencenounThe act of rising out of a fluid, or coming forth from envelopment or concealment, or of rising into view; appearance.
strokenounAn act of hitting; a blow, a hit.
risenounThe process of or an action or instance of moving upwards or becoming greater.
turnnounA change of direction or orientation.
openingnounAn act or instance of making or becoming open.
beginnoun(nonstandard) Beginning; start.
commenceverb(intransitive) To begin, start.
get-gonoun(colloquial) The beginning.

Words Strongly Associated with "Onset"

These words statistically appear in the same text as "onset" (Google Books Ngrams).

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