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

Attorneys at a key hearing for the man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk sparred over whether a police interview should be made public, with Kirk’s family attorney saying that sealing it will only sow distrust in the justice system. — Amanda Lee Myers, USA Today, 9 July 2026

The 48-year-old daughter of former president Rodrigo Duterte is accused of corruption, bribery, misappropriating millions in government funds and threatening to have the current president, Ferdinand Marcos Jr, assassinated. — Harriet Marsden, TheWeek, 9 July 2026

The 23-year-old man accused of assassinating Charlie Kirk during an event at Utah Valley University will be in court this week for the most substantial hearing so far in his murder case. — ABC News, 5 July 2026

The officials said the US worried that Israel might assassinate Mohammad Bagher Ghalibaf, the Iranian parliamentary speaker who is leading negotiations with the US, or Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi, who has also been a public face of the talks. — Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN Money, 4 July 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