assassination en · NOUN
Pronunciation
Etymology
Etymology tree English assassin English -ate English assassinate Proto-Indo-European *-tis Proto-Indo-European *-Hō Proto-Indo-European *-tiHō Proto-Italic *-tiō Latin -tiō Latin -ātiōlbor. Old French -ationbor. Middle English -acioun English -ation English -ion English assassination From assassinate + -ion.
Meanings
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(countable, uncountable) The murder of a person, especially for political reasons or for personal gain.
But side by side with it was a baser conspiracy, among the more unprincipled and desperate friends of James, for the assassination of the King.
1890, James Franck Bright, edited by Rivingtons, A History of England, →ISBN, page 853:(It's possible that at least some of the liberals who answered "yes, violence can sometimes be justified" had in mind edge cases like armed resistance by Jews against the SS, not the assassination of peaceful political pundits with whom they disagree.)
2025 September 16, Jack Nicastro, “J.D. Vance Says 26 Percent of Young Liberals Justify Political Violence. Here's What the Data Really Say.”, in Reason, archived from the original on 06 Oct 2025:Liu's agents pursued him and he escaped assassination only by throwing his clothing away by the Chʻien-tʻang River near Hangchow, thus suggesting suicide.
1963, “Introduction”, in Wing-tsit Chan, transl., Instructions for Practical Living and Other Neo-Confucian Writings by Wang Yang-ming, Columbia University Press, →LCCN, →OCLC, page xxiv:The assassination of the king occurred at night.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| assassinations | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
counterassassination · royal assassination · assassination market · character assassination · assassination marketplace
Relateds
Translations (70)
bg уби́йство (murder) · ro asasinare (murder) · de Attentat (murder) · be забо́йства (murder) · el δολοφονία (murder) · cs vražda (murder) · es magnicidio (murder) · ru уби́йство (murder) · mk атента́т (murder) · sl umor (murder) · it assassinio (murder) · tr suikast (murder) · ko 암살 (murder) · ang morþsliht (murder) · de tödlicher Mordanschlag (murder) · hy սպանություն (murder) · et atentaat (murder) · pl morderstwo (murder) · fa قتل (murder) · uk уби́вство (murder) · da attentat (murder) · ka პოლიტიკური მკვლელობა (murder) · rif tamenɣiwt (murder) · ru наёмное уби́йство (murder) · ja 暗殺 (murder) · hu merénylet (murder) · es sicariato (murder) · pt assassinato (murder) · cmn 暗殺 /暗杀 (murder) · be зама́х (murder) · sk atentát (murder) · ca assassinat (murder) · pl skrytobójstwo (murder) · nl sluipmoord (murder) · fi salamurha (murder) · tg қатл (murder) · th การลอบสังหาร (murder) · oc assassinat (murder) · nn attentat (murder) · sv attentat (murder) · nrf assâsinâtion (murder) · de Meuchelmord (murder) · la assassinātiō (murder) · uk за́мах (murder) · fa ترور (murder) · la caedēs per insidiās (murder) · pl zamach (murder) · fr assassinat (murder) · mk у́биство (murder) · nb snikmord (murder) · fa سوء قصد (murder) · ro asasinat (murder) · sl atentat (murder) · or ଗୁପ୍ତହତ୍ୟା (murder) · sk vražda (murder) · tl paglingo (murder) · da snigmord (murder) · ar اِغْتِيَال (murder) · he רֶצַח m הִתְנַקְּשׁוּת (murder) · my လုပ်ကြံမှု (murder) · bg атента́т (murder) · cmn 刺殺 /刺杀 (murder) · bg полити́ческо уби́йство (murder) · hy մարդասպանություն (murder) · cs atentát (murder) · sv lönnmord (murder) · de Ermordung (murder) · gl asasinato (murder) · nb attentat (murder) · nl moord (murder)