assassinate

verb as·sas·si·nate \ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnāt\

Definition of assassinate

assassinated

assassinating

transitive verb
1 : to injure or destroy unexpectedly and treacherously
2 : to murder (a usually prominent person) by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons

assassination

play \-ˌsa-sə-ˈnā-shən\ noun

assassinator

play \-ˈsa-sə-ˌnā-tər\ noun

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Examples of assassinate in a sentence

They discovered a secret plot to assassinate the governor.
President John F. Kennedy was assassinated in 1963.

1607

First Known Use of assassinate

1607

Synonym Discussion of 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>.