assassinate

American  

[uh-sas-uh-neyt] / əˈsæs əˌneɪt /

verb (used with object)

assassinated, assassinating

1. to kill suddenly or secretively, especially a prominent person; murder premeditatedly and treacherously.

   Synonyms:

   slay

2. to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously.

   to assassinate a person's character.

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assassinate British  

/ əˈsæsɪˌneɪt /

verb

1. to murder (a person, esp a public or political figure), usually by a surprise attack

2. to ruin or harm (a person's reputation, etc) by slander

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Other Word Forms

• assassination
  noun
• assassinative
  adjective
• assassinator
  noun
• unassassinated
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of assassinate

First recorded in 1590–1600; assassin + -ate ¹

Explanation

To assassinate someone means to target and deliberately kill that person. The word assassinate is almost always used to describe the killing of a famous person. When a political leader or very well-known person is murdered, the killer is said to assassinate the victim. A killer might assassinate someone for political or ideological reasons, to gain fame for the act, or possibly for payment by someone else. You can assassinate figuratively, as well, by damaging a person's good name: "If you print that story, it will assassinate my reputation." The Arabic root of assassin is hashishiyyin, "hashish users."

Related Words

• execute
• gun down
• kill
• slaughter
• slay