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

2

: treacherous destruction of a person's reputation

character assassination

Examples of assassination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Follow the example of Sylvia Meagher, a divorcée who spent much of 1965 making an index for the twenty-six supplementary volumes of the Warren Report from her West Village apartment, taking a fine-tooth comb to eighteen thousand pages of hearings and exhibits about the JFK assassination. —Dan Piepenbring, Harpers Magazine, 26 May 2026

Swierc was among a wave of workers who lost their jobs in both the public and private sector after posting social media comments and memes about Kirk’s assassination. —Russ Bynum, Fortune, 26 May 2026

Is Julius Cesar going to survive the assassination plot? —Sean Woods, Rolling Stone, 25 May 2026

The president also demanded the White House ballroom project — which began when the East Wing was demolished in October 2025 — be completed following the assassination attempt at the White House Correspondents' Dinner at the Washington Hilton hotel in April. —Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 24 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assassination

• character assassination

Rhymes for assassination

• abbreviation
• abomination
• acceleration
• accentuation
• accommodation
• accreditation
• acculturation
• accumulation
• acetylation
• adjudication
• administration
• adulteration