assassinnoun [ C ]
uk/əˈsæs.ɪn/us/əˈsæs.ən/someone who kills a famous or important person, usually for political reasons or in exchange for money:
John Lennon's assassin was Mark Chapman.
She hired an assassin to eliminate her rival.
More examples
- The assassination could do serious damage to the fragile peace agreement that was signed last month.
- The assassination of the Archduke Ferdinand started off the first World War.
- President Kennedy's assassination had far-reaching repercussions.
- The assassination was reported in all the newspapers.
- The book describes the train of events that led up to the assassination.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Murderers & attackers
- -basher
- abductor
- assailant
- attacker
- bandit
- butcher
- cyberbully
- death squad
- gunman
- highwayman
- hitman
- killer
- mugger
- murderer
- parricide
- poisoner
- regicide
- shooter
- slayer
- strangler
See more results »