Onset

• arrival that has been awaited (especially of something momentous)

• the season including the four Sundays preceding Christmas

• (Christian theology) the reappearance of Jesus as judge for the Last Judgment

• the beginning of anything

• the time at which something is supposed to begin

• a turn to be a starter (in a game at the beginning)

• a sudden involuntary movement

• the act of starting something

• a line indicating the location of the start of a race or a game

• a signal to begin (as in a race)

• the advantage gained by beginning early (as in a race)

• take the first step or steps in carrying out an action

• set in motion, cause to start

• depart for someplace

• have a beginning, in a temporal, spatial, or evaluative sense

• bring into being

• get off the ground

• move or jump suddenly, as if in surprise or alarm

• get going or set in motion

• begin or set in motion

• begin work or acting in a certain capacity, office or job

• play in the starting lineup

• have a beginning characterized in some specified way

• begin an event that is implied and limited by the nature or inherent function of the direct object

• bulge outward

• (military) an offensive against an enemy (using weapons)

• an offensive move in a sport or game

• intense adverse criticism

• ideas or actions intended to deal with a problem or situation

• the act of attacking

• a decisive manner of beginning a musical tone or phrase

• a sudden occurrence of an uncontrollable condition

• the onset of a corrosive or destructive process (as by a chemical agent)

• strong criticism

• launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with

• attack in speech or writing

• take the initiative and go on the offensive

• attack someone physically or emotionally

• set to work upon; turn one's energies vigorously to a task

• begin to injure