assault vs defensive

assault

noun
  • A non-competitive combat between two fencers. 

  • A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc. 

  • A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like 

  • An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm (such as brandishing a weapon). 

  • An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching the person, such as by raising a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at the person and missing. 

  • The tort whose action is such an act. 

  • The crime whose action is such an attempt. 

verb
  • To threaten or harass. 

  • To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail. 

defensive

noun
  • A means, attitude or position of defense. 

adj
  • Intended for defence; protective. 

  • In a state or posture of defense. 

  • Of a bowling or fielding tactic designed to prevent the other side from scoring runs; of a batting tactic designed to prevent being out. 

  • Performed so as to minimise risk. 

  • Displaying an inordinate sensitivity to criticism or intrusion; oversensitive; thin-skinned. 

  • Pertaining to defense, as opposed to attack. 

  • Intended to deter attack. 

How often have the words assault and defensive occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )