assassinate

verb

as·sas·si·nate ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnāt

assassinated; assassinating

Synonyms of assassinate next

transitive verb

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

a plot to assassinate the governor

: to injure or destroy unexpectedly and treacherously

assassinate a man's character

assassinator

ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnā-tər

noun

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

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Musawi was the Party’s second secretary-general, until he was assassinated by Israel, in 1992. —

Rania Abouzeid, The New Yorker, 21 Nov. 2024 Last week, an Iranian asset was charged with attempting to assassinate President-elect Trump. —

Andrea Margolis, Fox News, 11 Nov. 2024 Trump was shot in the ear by a would-be assassin at a rally in July and a man was charged with attempting to assassinate Trump at his golf course in September. —

Zac Anderson, USA TODAY, 3 Nov. 2024 But in a minority opinion, liberal Justice Sonia Sotomayor feared the ruling would broadly shield Trump from abusing his authority in any number of ways, whether assassinating a rival or accepting bribes. —

Rebecca Beitsch, The Hill, 2 Nov. 2024 See all Example Sentences for assassinate