The use of an attack suggests that you reduce or increase the distance between yourself and the aggressor, subsequently removing it.
Examples of attacks:
dismissal of the person by the chief;
expulsion of a person from home;
the sending of a person under a plausible pretext;
caustic remarks;
humiliation;
ridicule;
condemnation.
The ultimate form of attack is physical contact. By the way, beatings and murders are also an extreme form of attack. It will not be superfluous to add that, for example, murder can be considered as a protective form, brought to a logical conclusion.