🇩🇪German Source WordCode: DE

Gegenangriff

Pronunciation / Transliteration: ˈɡeːɡənˌʔanɡʁɪf

🇬🇧 Direct English Meaning:
Counterattack/ˈkaʊn.tər.ə.tæk/
nounverbCEFR B2 (Upper)Top #1500 frequency
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🇩🇪 Example Sentence in German:

"Die Truppen bereiteten einen sofortigen Gegenangriff vor."

Comprehensive Definitions & Senses

2 senses
As noun
  1. 1

    An attack made in response to one by an opponent or enemy.

    "The army launched a swift counterattack to regain the lost territory."
As verb
  1. 1

    To attack an enemy or opponent in response to their attack.

    "The team defended stubbornly before deciding to counterattack."

Thesaurus & Semantic Spectrum

Linguistic Origin & Historical Etymology

The term 'counterattack' is derived from the prefix 'counter-', meaning 'against', and 'attack', which comes from the Old French 'ataquer', meaning 'to attack'. The combination reflects a tactical response to an initial aggression, evolving in military contexts since the early 20th century.

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