ONSET

n. 1 attack, assault, onrush, onslaught, charge, strike, hit, raid, storming, sally, sortie These troops had to bear the brunt of the onset 2 beginning, start, outset, initiation, inauguration, commencement, inception, dawn, birth, origin, genesis, appearance, debut We must leave before the onset of the monsoon season The sudden onset of a new policy will throw the ministers into a panic.