assassinate
/əˈsasɪneɪt
/verb [with object]
Murder (an important person) for political or religious reasons: the organization’s leader had been assassinated four months before the coup...
- Political opponents were assassinated, women were raped before being mutilated and killed.
- It was the first time in modern history a Dutch political leader was assassinated.
- Absolutely none of which is a reason to assassinate anyone.
Synonyms
murder, kill, execute, slaughter, butcher, liquidate, eliminate, exterminate, terminate
informal hit
literary slay
Derivatives
assassinator
Origin
Early 17th century: from medieval Latin assassinat- 'killed', from the verb assassinare, from assassinus (see assassin).