a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
(initial capital letter) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.
1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish
An assassin is someone who murders an important political or religious leader. Brutus is one of the most infamous assassins in history. He murdered Julius Caesar, who ruled Rome in the first century B.C. The word assassin, pronounced "uh-SASS-in," describes a person who murders a prominent person, like a political or religious leader. Often, this person is hired to kill, though he or she might act on personal motivations. To correctly spell assassin, remember that it has two double s's.
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Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Lady Thatcher and her assassin are "the entrance point" to that issue, he says.
From BBC ● May 8, 2026
Two years later, another would-be assassin targeted Trump—and Curran is the one answering for the agency as questions about its preparedness mount.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 3, 2026
With a streak of 27 wins and counting, Jamie Ding is a “Jeopardy!” assassin.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026
The character they built for “Normal” was intentionally less mythic and more grounded than the former government assassin Odenkirk plays in “Nobody.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
Celaena glanced to the right to find Pelor, the gangly young assassin, watching her.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
If you trace in this event the origins of a similar scene in Alias Grace and also one in The Blind Assassin, you would be right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
Its counterpart imperial stout, Vanilla Bean Assassin, is ranked No. 2, while another offering called Mornin’ Delight is ranked in the top 10.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
A back-to-back loss on the big stage, however, could spell retirement for 'The Silent Assassin'.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2023
Assassin bugs, which belong to an insect family called Reduviidae, date at least as far back as the Jurassic.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2021
The Assassin gasped, cradling her injured hand to her chest.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
"This awoke not just Michoacan, but all of Mexico," she told AFP while surrounded by bodyguards to keep would-be assassins at bay.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
A perennial target of assassins, James survived the Gunpowder Plot of 1605, when Guy Fawkes and confederates hoped to blow up Parliament.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 5, 2025
Osric Mordaunt, considered a dark magic user, is part of an order of assassins hated and dismissed by Aurienne Fairhrim’s light magic order of healers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 8, 2025
And, when that power comes on and pulls Scotland this way and that, enter the French assassins behind the scrum - all clever angles and deception, outrageous vision and ruthless execution.
From BBC ● Mar. 15, 2025
And Lazlo was surprised by the strength of his gratitude—to be believed, even by a tomb raider from a family of assassins.
From "Strange the Dreamer" by Laini Taylor
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
