assassination

noun

as·​sas·​si·​na·​tion ə-ˌsa-sə-ˈnā-shən How to pronounce assassination (audio)
plural assassinations
1
: murder by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons : the act or an instance of assassinating someone (such as a prominent political leader)
the assassination of Abraham Lincoln
an assassination attempt
In medieval days, assassination by poisoning was common enough to alarm many a king, and protection was sought in the form of prayers, food tasters and science.The New York Times
2
: treacherous destruction of a person's reputation
character assassination

Examples of assassination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web They were brought together when their native village was destroyed by shogunate spies, and torn apart again in the tutorial level during an assassination mission gone awry. Katcy Stephan, Variety, 21 Mar. 2024 So Booth didn’t just commit the assassination of Lincoln. Chris Klimek, Smithsonian Magazine, 21 Mar. 2024 The tragic assassination of his close friend, San Francisco Mayor George Moscone, occurred minutes after Willie Brown had left his office. James Richardson, The Mercury News, 19 Mar. 2024 Armed gangs, whose power has surged in the vacuum left by the still-unsolved assassination of President Jovenel Moïse in 2021, have overrun much of the Caribbean country, leaving it on the brink of collapse. Bryan Pietsch, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 Black Americans had been engaged in a struggle to obtain those rights and had endured political assassinations, racist murders, bombings and other violence. Nikole Hannah-Jones, New York Times, 13 Mar. 2024 One tragedy of the assassination is that in some measure Booth was successful. Jill Lepore, The New Yorker, 11 Mar. 2024 The presidency has been vacant since the still-unsolved 2021 assassination of Jovenel Moïse; the National Assembly has been empty since the last lawmakers’ terms expired last year. Samantha Schmidt, Washington Post, 9 Mar. 2024 He was appointed, not elected, after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. Suzanne Nuyen, NPR, 8 Mar. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'assassination.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1610, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of assassination was in 1610

Dictionary Entries Near assassination

Cite this Entry

“Assassination.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassination. Accessed 28 Mar. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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