assassination

noun

as·sas·si·na·tion ə-ˌsa-sə-ˈnā-shən

plural assassinations

: 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

: treacherous destruction of a person's reputation

character assassination

Examples of assassination in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The film, which won Sean Penn his second Oscar, is a fine tale of the American democratic process with an unbearable true-life dénouement: The assassination of Milk and Mayor George Moscone by city supervisor Dan White. —

Keith Staskiewicz, EW.com, 26 June 2024 Iran in the Trump Era President Trump's decision to order the assassination of Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani has backfired in spectacular fashion. —

JSTOR Daily, 24 June 2024 The civil rights movement seemed far back in the past — the Montgomery bus boycott, the assassination of MLK, etc. —

Jay Nordlinger, National Review, 24 June 2024 The most recent security crisis in Port-au-Prince began in 2021, following the assassination of President Jovenel Moïse. —

Websder Corneille, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 June 2024 See all Example Sentences for assassination

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.