assassination
noun
as·sas·si·na·tion
ə-ˌsa-sə-ˈnā-shən 
plural assassinations
1
: murder by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons : the act or an instance of assassinating someone (such as a prominent political leader)
the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
an assassination attempt
In medieval days, assassination by poisoning was common enough to alarm many a king, and protection was sought in the form of prayers, food tasters and science.—
The New York Times
The New York Times2
: treacherous destruction of a person's reputation
character assassination
Examples of assassination in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
But after the assassination of Kennedy, his dreams of going to space were derailed.
—J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
There have been at least two recent uses of chemical weapons in assassination attempts, in 2020 and in 2018.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 26 Apr. 2024
That included a piece about the father of Sen. Ted Cruz being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Goold stages his downfall like a rock opera, with strobes, bursts of loud noise (these are often assassination attempts) and weird dancers.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Iran’s barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles enables its leadership to claim vengeance for Israel’s April 1 assassination of seven senior Revolutionary Guards commanders.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
Electricity was always patchy, but following the 2021 assassination of President Moïse the state electricity company collapsed and stopped providing power.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024
Those and several other assassinations did not prompt retaliatory Iranian strikes on Israel.
—Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Zahedi, a former commander of the IRGC’s ground forces, air force, and the deputy commander of its operations, was the most high-profile Iranian target killed since then-US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
J.m. Banks, Kansas City Star, 26 Apr. 2024
There have been at least two recent uses of chemical weapons in assassination attempts, in 2020 and in 2018.
—Chris Eberhart, Fox News, 26 Apr. 2024
That included a piece about the father of Sen. Ted Cruz being involved in the assassination of John F. Kennedy.
—Elizabeth Robinson, NBC News, 24 Apr. 2024
Goold stages his downfall like a rock opera, with strobes, bursts of loud noise (these are often assassination attempts) and weird dancers.
—Jesse Green, New York Times, 22 Apr. 2024
Iran’s barrage of more than 300 drones and missiles enables its leadership to claim vengeance for Israel’s April 1 assassination of seven senior Revolutionary Guards commanders.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 18 Apr. 2024
Electricity was always patchy, but following the 2021 assassination of President Moïse the state electricity company collapsed and stopped providing power.
—Eyder Peralta, NPR, 18 Apr. 2024
Those and several other assassinations did not prompt retaliatory Iranian strikes on Israel.
—Patrick Kingsley, New York Times, 14 Apr. 2024
Zahedi, a former commander of the IRGC’s ground forces, air force, and the deputy commander of its operations, was the most high-profile Iranian target killed since then-US President Donald Trump ordered the assassination of IRGC Gen. Qassem Soleimani in Baghdad in 2020.
—Rob Picheta, CNN, 14 Apr. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assassination.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Assassination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassination. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
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