assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsa-sᵊn 

1

: a person who commits murder

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for money or from fanatical adherence to a cause

2

Assassin : a member of a Shia Muslim sect who at the time of the Crusades was sent out on a suicidal mission to murder prominent enemies

Synonyms

• cutthroat
• homicide
• killer
• manslayer
• murderer

Examples of assassin in a Sentence

John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

shot down by an unknown assassin

Recent Examples on the Web

Peter and Rose are then tossed into a world of conspiracy involving White House officials, a metro bombing, assassins, the vice president's daughter, and Peter's own father — who, according to official record, was a traitor to his country. —Ashley Boucher, EW.com, 23 Jan. 2025

The assassins were working for Gordon Wick (Ben Cotton), the real culprit behind the DC Metro bombing along with Vice President Redfield (Christopher Shyer). —Proma Khosla, IndieWire, 21 Jan. 2025

At times, Trump reflected on his political fortunes — and his life — which was threatened twice by assassins during the 2024 campaign. —Jonathan Easley, The Hill, 20 Jan. 2025

All the powerful forces that tried to take him down: the mainstream media, partisan prosecutors, assassins. —Ryan Gaydos, Fox News, 20 Jan. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin assassinus, from Arabic ḥashshāshīn, plural of ḥashshāsh worthless person, literally, hashish user, from hashīsh hashish

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing assassin

• assassin bug

Kids Definition

assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsas-ən 

: a person who kills another person

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for pay or from loyalty to a cause