assassinate
verb
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Definition of assassinate
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
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Other Words from assassinate
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noun
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noun
Synonyms for assassinate
Synonyms
bump off, croak [slang], dispatch, do in, execute, get, liquidate, murder, rub out, slay, terminate
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Examples of assassinate in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
In 2013, two prominent opposition leaders were assassinated in Tunisia. — Vivienne Walt, Time, "Meet 4 Crusaders Who Are Keeping the Dream of Democracy Alive," 12 July 2018 But Aung San was assassinated shortly after and the deal fell apart. — The Christian Science Monitor, "Myanmar opens peace conference with ethnic rebel groups," 11 July 2018 But he was assassinated only five years later, in 1978, by communists who then took over in Kabul. — Maija Liuhto, Longreads, "A Music So Beautiful the Birds Fell from the Trees," 28 June 2018 Robert Kennedy, then a senator from New York, was assassinated moments after winning the Democrats’ presidential primary in California. — Annie Linskey, BostonGlobe.com, "Democrats test messages and leaders for next chapter at RFK memorial," 6 June 2018 Less than two weeks later, after winning the California primary on June 5, he was assassinated after a victory speech in Los Angeles. — The Daily Astorian, OregonLive.com, "Shortly before death, RFK found piece of home on the Oregon coast," 2 June 2018 In April, King was assassinated, leading to riots and unrest in many cities. — Matthew Glowicki, The Courier-Journal, "In Louisville's Parkland neighborhood, the scars of 1968 riots are still visible," 26 May 2018 Five months after the movie was released, Kennedy was assassinated. — Karina Bland, azcentral, "An unexpected find in a Vietnam shop, a journey home for a Marine's dog tag," 23 May 2018 In 1913 Song Jiaoren was assassinated after being elected prime minister in the country’s first attempt at democratic polls. — The Economist, "The next sunriseIdeas from abroad take time to percolate," 17 May 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assassinate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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From the Editors at Merriam-Webster
10 Words Shakespeare Never Invented
10 Words Shakespeare Never Invented
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Dictionary Entries near assassinate
Statistics for assassinate
Last Updated
10 Oct 2018
Look-up Popularity
Time Traveler for assassinate
The first known use of assassinate was in 1600
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More Definitions for assassinate
assassinate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of assassinate
: to kill (someone, such as a famous or important person) usually for political reasons
See the full definition for assassinate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
assassinate
verbKids Definition of assassinate
: to murder a usually important person by a surprise or secret attack
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