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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.
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

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Other Word Forms

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

Etymology

Origin of assassinate

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

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.