assignation
Americannoun
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an appointment for a meeting, especially a lover's secret rendezvous.
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the act of assigning; assignment.
noun
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a secret or forbidden arrangement to meet, esp one between lovers
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the act of assigning; assignment
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law another word for assignment
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of assignation
1400–50; late Middle English assignacioun < Latin assignātiōn- (stem of assignātiō ). See assign, -ation
Explanation
An assignation is a secret meeting. You might have an assignation with your new girlfriend if the two of you were keeping your relationship private. Any kind of clandestine meeting can be called an assignation, but it most often describes a romantic tryst. Every encounter between the two main characters in Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" is an assignation, since their families don't approve of their relationship. The word assignation meant "appointment by authority" in the 14th century, from the Latin assignationem, "an assigning or allotment," with the "meeting by arrangement" meaning arising in the late 17th century.
Vocabulary lists containing assignation
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
By evening’s end, a frazzled Ventura senior citizen — during a cloak-and-dagger assignation — had uttered a secret code to a person who claimed to be law enforcement, then handed him $25,000.
From Los Angeles Times • May 13, 2026
While maintaining a fragile—and heartrending—composure, Ms. Manville’s Jocasta also reveals that she was not Laius’ only victim; it is implied that he was killed while heading to some sort of unsavory assignation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 14, 2025
A Scottish government spokesperson added that the assignation statement, which transfers rights to another party, was made in accordance with the relevant legislation.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2025
The lucrative assignation of World Cup soccer venues depended on the highest bidder.
From Washington Post • Jan. 12, 2022
And if she expected him, then it was an assignation; adventure again.
From A Bed of Roses by George, Walter Lionel
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.
