Assassin - Definition, Meaning & Synonyms

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SKIP TO CONTENT assassin /əˈsæsn/ /əˈsæsɪn/ IPA guide

Other forms: assassins

An assassin is someone who murders an important political or religious leader. Brutus is one of the most infamous assassins in history. He murdered Julius Caesar, who ruled Rome in the first century B.C.

The word assassin, pronounced "uh-SASS-in," describes a person who murders a prominent person, like a political or religious leader. Often, this person is hired to kill, though he or she might act on personal motivations. To correctly spell assassin, remember that it has two double s's.

Definitions of assassin

noun a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed “his assassins were hunted down like animals” synonyms: assassinator, bravo see moresee less examples: John Wilkes Booth United States actor and assassin of President Lincoln (1838-1865) Lee Harvey Oswald United States assassin of President John F. Kennedy (1939-1963) type of: liquidator, manslayer, murderer a criminal who commits homicide (who performs the unlawful premeditated killing of another human being)
noun a member of a militant Muslim sect known during the Crusades for murdering enemies see moresee less type of: Moslem, Muslim a believer in or follower of Islam

Pronunciation US /əˈsæsn/ UK /əˈsæsɪn/ Cite this entry Style: MLA

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Copy citation DISCLAIMER: These example sentences appear in various news sources and books to reflect the usage of the word ‘assassin'. Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Vocabulary.com or its editors. Send us feedback Word Family

Vocabulary lists containing assassin

Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors

Language change is driven by mistakes. If every generation of children learned perfectly what they heard spoken around them, then languages would be exact duplicates of themselves, stretching years into the past. But this isn't what happens. Errors, mishearings, inversion of sounds, dropping and adding of sounds, all these phenomena and more drive historical language change. You'll find a few of these systematic inconsistencies that result in other word forms below, as well as singular instances that don't fit a pattern where linguists can pinpoint exactly what went "wrong."

Unit 1: Telling Details view more about the vocabulary list

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