assassinate

verb

as·​sas·​si·​nate ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnāt 

assassinated; assassinating

transitive verb

1

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

a plot to assassinate the governor

2

: to injure or destroy unexpectedly and treacherously

assassinate a man's character

assassinator

ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnā-tər 

noun

Synonyms of assassinate

• murder
• slay
• execute
• kill

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

Congress named the performing arts center as a living memorial to Kennedy in 1964, the year after he was assassinated. — ABC News, 20 Aug. 2026

Hanke even survived a close call when Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic spread rumors the economist was a French spy and dispatched a hit squad to assassinate him. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026

The congregation was the organizing place for the sanitation workers’ strike that brought King to town in March 1968, weeks before he was assassinated there. — Jason Wollschleger, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026

Kennedy, who was born after her father was assassinated, credits not only him but her whole family with inspiring her. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026

Word History

Etymology

see assassin

First Known Use

1600, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for assassinate

• abbreviate
• accelerate
• accommodate
• accumulate
• acuminate
• adjudicate
• adulterate
• affiliate
• agglomerate
• agglutinate
• alleviate
• amalgamate

Kids Definition

assassinate

verb

as·​sas·​si·​nate ə-ˈsas-ᵊn-ˌāt 

assassinated; assassinating

: to murder a usually important person by a surprise or secret attack

assassination

ə-ˌsas-ᵊn-ˈā-shən 

noun