assassinate
Americanverb (used with object)
-
to kill suddenly or secretively, especially a prominent person; murder premeditatedly and treacherously.
- Synonyms:
- slay
-
to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously.
to assassinate a person's character.
verb
-
to murder (a person, esp a public or political figure), usually by a surprise attack
-
to ruin or harm (a person's reputation, etc) by slander
Other Word Forms
- assassination noun
- assassinative adjective
- assassinator noun
- unassassinated adjective
Etymology
Origin of assassinate
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In 2025, replying to AFP's question, Putin said he did "not even wish to discuss" the idea Israel might assassinate Iran's Khamenei.
From Barron's
One of his daughters claimed he was assassinated by people inside the system.
The New York Times reported that he had chosen "three senior clerics" as possible replacements if he were to be assassinated.
From BBC
The spirit of her husband, the assassinated president, appears with his hands resting on her shoulders.
From Literature
He rose to prominence in the 1960s as a leader in Martin Luther King, Jr 's Southern Christian Leadership Conference and was with King when he was assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee, in 1968.
From BBC
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
