Synonym Chooser

How is the word assassinate distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of assassinate are dispatch, execute, kill, murder, and slay. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

When might dispatch be a better fit than assassinate?

The words dispatch and assassinate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When can execute be used instead of assassinate?

Although the words execute and assassinate have much in common, execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

When would kill be a good substitute for assassinate?

The meanings of kill and assassinate largely overlap; however, kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

When is murder a more appropriate choice than assassinate?

The synonyms murder and assassinate are sometimes interchangeable, but murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

When could slay be used to replace assassinate?

The words slay and assassinate can be used in similar contexts, but slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of assassinate The 2024 election campaign was Mexico’s most violent in modern history, with more than three dozen candidates assassinated and many others dropping out over threats to their safety. Daniel Depetris, Time, 24 Sep. 2025 Kirk was assassinated on September 10 while speaking at Utah Valley University. Ben Morse, CNN Money, 24 Sep. 2025 Kirk was assassinated at a Utah college event earlier this month. Josh Bergeron, Charlotte Observer, 24 Sep. 2025 Routh, 59, was charged on five federal criminal counts, including attempting to assassinate a major presidential candidate, assaulting a federal officer and multiple firearms offenses. Jackson Thompson, FOXNews.com, 23 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for assassinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assassinate
Verb
  • Why these four girls were murdered is still unclear.
    Olivia B. Waxman, Time, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Here was an artist, a father, murdering someone with a viciousness that went beyond self-preservation.
    Seamus Sullivan September 29, Literary Hub, 29 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Murray, 72, was found bound and slain in the basement of his home in the 3700 block of Newcastle after his wife called 911 to report a robbery.
    Christina Hall, Freep.com, 1 Oct. 2025
  • Beginning in 1964 Nagasaki and unfolding over the next 50 years, young Kikuo (Soya Kurokawa) is taken under the wing of renowned Kabuki maestro Hanjiro Hanai (Ken Watanabe) after his yakuza father was slain.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 30 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • Fans have become frustrated watching the Philadelphia Eagles execute the play time and time again.
    Evan Massey, MSNBC Newsweek, 1 Oct. 2025
  • The area has seen heavy rains at least 20 times since the VRA was executed last year, according to an ABC News analysis of National Weather Service data.
    Maia Rosenfeld, ABC News, 1 Oct. 2025
Verb
  • At least four people were killed and eight were injured after a gunman attacked a Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints service in Michigan on Sunday morning, police said.
    Joe Hernandez, NPR, 29 Sep. 2025
  • Since finding out the gun that killed Dark Hearts member Warren Clarke (Joshua Dye) at the trap house robbery gone wrong once belonged to one of their own, Perry has been on a mission to figure out who inside the biker gang was feeding information to the thieves.
    Megan McCluskey, Time, 29 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Assassinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assassinate. Accessed 3 Oct. 2025.

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