assassin

American  

[uh-sas-in] / əˈsæs ɪn /

noun

1. a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.

2. (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.

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Assassin ¹ British  

/ əˈsæsɪn /

noun

1. a member of a secret sect of Muslim fanatics operating in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1256, murdering their victims, usually Crusaders

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assassin ² British  

/ əˈsæsɪn /

noun

1. a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure

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Etymology

Origin of assassin

1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish

Example Sentences

Senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller called Pretti a "would-be assassin".

From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026

Credits at the end of “Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair” attribute the creation of the Bride assassin to “Q & U” — stark-white capital letters that stand in for Quentin Tarantino and Uma Thurman.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 5, 2025

The assassin may have been lost to history by nearly everyone but Stephen Sondheim.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 6, 2025

Then in 1990 he got attention for his turn as the hard-nosed secret agent handling Anne Parillaud's female assassin Nikita, in Besson's hit film of the same name.

From Barron's • Oct. 31, 2025

Celaena glanced to the right to find Pelor, the gangly young assassin, watching her.

From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas