assassinate

verb

as·​sas·​si·​nate ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnāt 

assassinated; assassinating

transitive verb

1

: to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons

a plot to assassinate the governor

2

: to injure or destroy unexpectedly and treacherously

assassinate a man's character

assassinator

ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

Synonyms

• bump off
• croak [slang]
• dispatch
• do in
• execute
• get
• ice [slang]
• knock off
• liquidate
• murder
• neutralize
• off [slang]
• put away
• rub out
• slay
• snuff
• take out
• terminate
• whack [slang]

Choose the Right Synonym for assassinate

kill, slay, murder, assassinate, dispatch, execute mean to deprive of life.

kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident

frost killed the plants

slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

Examples of assassinate in a Sentence

They discovered a secret plot to assassinate the governor.

President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

Recent Examples on the Web

The year after Lincoln was assassinated by slavery supporter John Wilkes Booth, strip-mining of coal got started in Lincoln’s home state of Illinois. —Sammy Roth, Los Angeles Times, 5 Nov. 2024

In Munich, demobilized soldiers, right-wing paramilitaries, and Communist militants fought in the streets, while leaders of the new Weimar Republic were routinely assassinated. —George Packer, The Atlantic, 5 Nov. 2024

Instead, his body was preserved for a postwar funeral, which will likely draw crowds larger even than the ones that mourned former Prime Minister Rafiq Hariri, who was assassinated in 2005, and whose funeral was attended by hundreds of thousands. —Mohanad Hage Ali, Foreign Affairs, 1 Nov. 2024

When her secret lover Jason (Andrew Koji) is assassinated, her spymaster, the enigmatic Reed (Sarah Lancashire), calls in Helen’s old friend Sam (Ben Whishaw) to keep her safe. —Erin Strecker, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2024

Word History

Etymology

see assassin

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

assassinate

verb

as·​sas·​si·​nate ə-ˈsas-ᵊn-ˌāt 

assassinated; assassinating

: to murder a usually important person by a surprise or secret attack

assassination

ə-ˌsas-ᵊn-ˈā-shən 

noun