Definitions

from The Century Dictionary.

  • noun The act of assassinating; the act, especially of a hired emissary, of killing or murdering by surprise or secret assault; murder by treacherous violence.

from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.

  • noun The act of assassinating; a killing by treacherous violence.

from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.

  • noun killing or murder for political reasons

from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.

  • noun an attack intended to ruin someone's reputation
  • noun murder of a public figure by surprise attack

Etymologies

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Examples

  • “I find your use of the word assassination rather amusing,” snarled Rudin.

    Vince Flynn Collectors’ Edition #2 Vince Flynn 2010

  • “I find your use of the word assassination rather amusing,” snarled Rudin.

    Vince Flynn Collectors’ Edition #2 Vince Flynn 2010

  • “I find your use of the word assassination rather amusing,” snarled Rudin.

    Vince Flynn Collectors’ Edition #2 Vince Flynn 2010

  • As much as he hated the notion of prolonging his exposure to those sons of bitches, once someone breathed the word assassination it all became a new ball game.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • As much as he hated the notion of prolonging his exposure to those sons of bitches, once someone breathed the word assassination it all became a new ball game.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • As much as he hated the notion of prolonging his exposure to those sons of bitches, once someone breathed the word assassination it all became a new ball game.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • As much as he hated the notion of prolonging his exposure to those sons of bitches, once someone breathed the word assassination it all became a new ball game.

    Scott Free John Gilstrap 2003

  • The Muslim Brotherhood, Egypt's most powerful Islamist political group, condemned what it called the assassination of Mr. bin Laden in a statement distributed to reporters on Monday.

    World Cheers Bin Laden Killing, Prepares for Strikes Alistair MacDonald 2011

  • Gbagbo allies say the U.N. and French forces were also involved in Wednesday's fighting as part of what they call an assassination attempt against Mr. Gbagbo, a charge that French officials deny.

    Ouattara Forces Attack Gbagbo Home in Ivory Coast 2011

  • Gbagbo allies say the U.N. and French forces were also involved in Wednesday's fighting as part of what they call an assassination attempt against Mr. Gbagbo, a charge that French officials deny.

    Ouattara Forces Attack Gbagbo Home in Ivory Coast 2011

Comments

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  • "Our drone wars also represent a new chapter in the history of assassination. Once upon a time, to be an assassin for a government was a furtive, shameful thing. In those days, of course, an assassin, if successful, took down a single person, not the targeted individual and anyone in the vicinity (or simply, if targeting intelligence proves wrong, anyone in the vicinity). No more poison-dart-tipped umbrellas, as in past KGB operations, or toxic cigars as in CIA ones -- not now that assassination has taken to the skies as an every day, all-year-round activity.

    Today, we increasingly display our assassination wares with pride. To us, at least, it seems perfectly normal for assassination aerial operations to be a part of an open discussion in Washington and in the media. Consider this a new definition of "progress" in our world."

    - Tom Engelhardt, Terminator Planet, tomdispatch.com, 7 April 2009.

    April 8, 2009

  • "Any state that turns a blind eye toward the assassination of reporters can't call itself a democracy."

    —Kati Marton, "Getting Away with Murder," Newsweek, July 20, 2009

    July 21, 2009