assassination

noun

Definition of assassinationnext
as in execution

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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 assassination Bernardeau’s character, Rafael Rodríguez Rapún, was a real person — an activist and actor who’d been Lorca’s romantic partner before the poet’s 1936 assassination by Franco’s forces, spurring Rodríguez Rapún to fight the fascists. — Daniel D'addario, Variety, 14 Oct. 2026 Evidence leading up to the assassination showed Robinson’s left-leaning political views and disdain toward Kirk. — Mackenzie Chase, The Washington Examiner, 14 Oct. 2026 Sanon’s exit as the group’s preferred candidate has become central to his defense in his federal conspiracy trial in Miami over the July 7, 2021, assassination of Moïse. — Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 Oct. 2026 His role in Shakur’s assassination in Las Vegas had been at the center of a nearly 30-year mystery that riveted rap fans, true-crime experts and conspiracy theorists. — Alicia Victoria Lozano, NBC news, 13 Oct. 2026 See All Example Sentences for assassination
Recent Examples of Synonyms for assassination
  1. execution
  2. massacre
  3. slaughter
  4. bloodshed
  5. destruction
  6. carnage
Noun
  • The 911 call recordings, as reported by the Associated Press, showed that first responders and prison officials did not know whether a request for emergency help from within the execution chamber was legitimate.
    — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 13 Oct. 2026
  • Some lawmakers worry broadcasting the execution could inspire more violence.
    — Erin Jones, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of execution
Noun
  • Authorities said Willeford, who lived near the church, grabbed his own gun and shot and chased the gunman, helping to stop the massacre.
    — Holly Yan, CNN Money, 16 Oct. 2026
  • In the coming years, the massacre generation is on track to become part of the largest voting bloc in the country.
    — Jillian Turanovic, Fortune, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of massacre
Noun
  • One of the leading explanations for its origin goes back to an older meaning of the word ‘bucket’ — a beam or yoke from which animals could be suspended during slaughter.
    — Jim Dudlicek, Chicago Tribune, 4 Oct. 2026
  • Now, as then, the dehumanization of Arab and Muslim lives is embedded in the very language used to describe their slaughter.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026
Definition of slaughter
Noun
  • These laws had accumulated piecemeal over generations, but American critics portrayed them as a single system with bloodshed at its center.
    — Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • After those twelve days, the bloodshed followed a deliberate design.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of bloodshed
Noun
  • The end of saving money and raising middle-class wages justifies the means, namely, the destruction of immigrant families.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 16 Oct. 2026
  • The destruction releases vast stores of carbon, adding to climate change that is already contributing to drought and forest fires across the tropics.
    — Ruben Nyanguila, semafor.com, 16 Oct. 2026
Definition of destruction
Noun
  • There’s a slickness to the carnage that rubs uncomfortably against the film’s humanist ethos, rendering artificial (for all Shen Teng’s trembling and mouth-contorting labors) the horrific tragedies that befall its characters.
    — Beatrice Loayza, Variety, 13 Oct. 2026
  • International outrage over the carnage in Gaza, meanwhile, has largely subsided, with many countries preferring a failing peace process to none at all.
    — KHALED ELGINDY, Foreign Affairs, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of carnage

Browse Nearby Words

assassinating
assassination
assassinations
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Cite this Entry

“Assassination.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/assassination. Accessed 21 Oct. 2026.

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