assassination

noun

as·sas·si·na·tion ə-ˌsa-sə-ˈnā-shən

plural assassinations

: 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

: treacherous destruction of a person's reputation

character assassination

Examples of assassination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web His book, The Lumumba Plot, which tells the story of the assassination of Congo's first prime minister, was published by Knopf in the fall of 2023. —

Foreign Affairs, 10 June 2024 Three weeks ago, Slovakia's Prime Minister Robert Fico was seriously injured in an assassination attempt, Reuters reported. —

Louis Casiano, Fox News, 7 June 2024 Machiavelli uses the examples of Caesar’s assassination in Rome and Cosimo’s exile from Florence to underscore this lesson. —

Vickie B. Sullivan, The Conversation, 5 June 2024 After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, Lyndon Johnson declined to debate in 1964. —

Major Garrett, CBS News, 31 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for assassination

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.