assassin

[ uh-sas-in ]
See synonyms for assassin on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.

  2. (initial capital letter) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.

Origin of assassin

1
1525–35; <Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) <Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish

Words Nearby assassin

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use assassin in a sentence

  • He received the blow on his arm, grappled with the assassin, and throwing him on the ground despatched him with his own dagger.

  • Then, after all the inquiries you instituted, you were really unable to point to the actual assassin?

    The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
  • If you are so certain that Enid Orlebar is implicated in the affair, if not the actual assassin, why don't you interrogate her?

    The Doctor of Pimlico | William Le Queux
  • The assassin gallops away upon his mare, and seeks by night to cross the Rhone.

    Frdric Mistral | Charles Alfred Downer
  • Yes, with the eyes of a veritable assassin, for at that moment M. Joyeuse is dreaming a terrible dream.

    The Nabob | Alphonse Daudet

British Dictionary definitions for assassin (1 of 2)

assassin

/ (əˈsæsɪn) /


noun
  1. a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure

Origin of assassin

1
C16: from Medieval Latin assassīnus, from Arabic hashshāshīn, plural of hashshāsh one who eats hashish

British Dictionary definitions for Assassin (2 of 2)

Assassin

/ (əˈsæsɪn) /


noun
  1. a member of a secret sect of Muslim fanatics operating in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1256, murdering their victims, usually Crusaders

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012