barrage vs assail

barrage is a noun but assail is not a noun.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
barrage	Yes	No	Yes	No
assail	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, assail is a hypernym of barrage; that is, assail is a word with a broader meaning than barrage:

Other hypernyms of barrage include assault, attack, lash out, round, snipe.

barrage (noun)	assail (noun)
the heavy fire of artillery to saturate an area rather than hit a specific target
the rapid and continuous delivery of linguistic communication (spoken or written)

barrage (verb)	assail (verb)
address with continuously or persistently, as if with a barrage	attack in speech or writing
	attack someone physically or emotionally
	launch an attack or assault on; begin hostilities or start warfare with