assassinate

verb

ə-ˈsa-sə-ˌnāt How to pronounce assassinate (audio)
Definition of assassinatenext
as in to murder
to put to death deliberately President Lincoln was assassinated by John Wilkes Booth

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Synonym Chooser

How is the word assassinate distinct from other similar verbs?

Some common synonyms of assassinate are dispatch, execute, kill, murder, and slay. While all these words mean "to deprive of life," assassinate applies to deliberate killing openly or secretly often for political motives.

terrorists assassinated the Senator

When might dispatch be a better fit than assassinate?

The words dispatch and assassinate are synonyms, but do differ in nuance. Specifically, dispatch stresses quickness and directness in putting to death.

dispatched the sentry with one bullet

When can execute be used instead of assassinate?

Although the words execute and assassinate have much in common, execute stresses putting to death as a legal penalty.

executed by lethal gas

When would kill be a good substitute for assassinate?

The meanings of kill and assassinate largely overlap; however, kill merely states the fact of death caused by an agency in any manner.

killed in an accident
frost killed the plants

When is murder a more appropriate choice than assassinate?

The synonyms murder and assassinate are sometimes interchangeable, but murder specifically implies stealth and motive and premeditation and therefore full moral responsibility.

convicted of murdering a rival

When could slay be used to replace assassinate?

The words slay and assassinate can be used in similar contexts, but slay is a chiefly literary term implying deliberateness and violence but not necessarily motive.

slew thousands of the Philistines

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of assassinate Among them is the son of Fred Hampton, a senior leader of the Black Panther Party who was assassinated by the FBI in 1969, at the age of 21. — Matthew Carey, Deadline, 22 Aug. 2026 Hanke even survived a close call when Yugoslav strongman Slobodan Milosevic spread rumors the economist was a French spy and dispatched a hit squad to assassinate him. — Shawn Tully, Fortune, 20 Aug. 2026 The congregation was the organizing place for the sanitation workers’ strike that brought King to town in March 1968, weeks before he was assassinated there. — Jason Wollschleger, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 2026 Kennedy, who was born after her father was assassinated, credits not only him but her whole family with inspiring her. — Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 19 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for assassinate
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assassinate
  1. murder
  2. slay
  3. execute
  4. kill
Verb
  • The singer is accused of murdering 14-year-old Celeste Rivas Hernandez.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 31 Aug. 2026
  • The vast majority of the 6 million Jews murdered spoke Yiddish.
    — Ilan Stavans, The Conversation, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of murder
Verb
  • Given their former friendship, war of words, iconic stature, legacies, and both being slain before their time, Shakur and Wallace’s murder cases have remained intertwined for decades.
    — Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 2 Sep. 2026
  • The hero this time is samurai Miyamoto Musashi, and his job is to slay the demonic Genma that have overrun the land.
    — ABC News, ABC News, 28 Aug. 2026
Definition of slay
Verb
  • Artificial intelligence is the latest trading innovation, helping traders analyze data, find patterns, test strategies, manage risk, and execute trades.
    — Brian Lund, Encyclopedia Britannica, 4 Sep. 2026
  • The model is pulled in ten different directions by different internal product teams, resulting in an interface that suffers from sudden behavioral resets and an inability to smoothly execute complex, multi-turn human requests.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of execute
Verb
  • The portable machine uses pulses of full-spectrum ultraviolet light to kill infectious germs inside hospital rooms.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 30 Aug. 2026
  • Clancy is a Massachusetts woman who has been on trial for killing her three children and attempting to take her own life in 2023.
    — Forbes.com, Forbes.com, 30 Aug. 2026
Definition of kill

Browse Nearby Words

assassin
assassinate
assassinated
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Cite this Entry

“Assassinate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assassinate. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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