assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsa-sᵊn 

1

capitalized : a member of a Shia Muslim sect who at the time of the Crusades was sent out on a suicidal mission to murder prominent enemies

2

: a person who commits murder

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for money or from fanatical adherence to a cause

Synonyms

• cutthroat
• homicide
• killer
• manslayer
• murderer

Examples of assassin in a Sentence

John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

shot down by an unknown assassin

Recent Examples on the Web

Pecker said that a popular 2016 conspiracy about Cruz's father being linked with JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald was completely made up by his tabloid. —Kyler Alvord, Peoplemag, 24 Apr. 2024

The thousand-yard-stare narration spoken by the film’s Marlow figure, the assassin Captain Willard (played by Martin Sheen), was written by Vietnam War correspondent Michael Herr, author of Dispatches, published in 1977. —Thomas Doherty, The Hollywood Reporter, 22 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin assassinus, from Arabic ḥashshāshīn, plural of ḥashshāsh worthless person, literally, hashish user, from hashīsh hashish

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Phrases Containing assassin

• assassin bug

Kids Definition

assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsas-ən 

: a person who kills another person

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for pay or from loyalty to a cause