assassin
Americannoun
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a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
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(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.
noun
noun
Etymology
Origin of assassin
1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish
Explanation
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.
Vocabulary lists containing assassin
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Workshop 4, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The character they built for “Normal” was intentionally less mythic and more grounded than the former government assassin Odenkirk plays in “Nobody.”
From Los Angeles Times • Apr. 15, 2026
Instead, you should be on guard against the silent, ruthless assassin of wealth: inflation.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026
He called the shooting a "very sad situation" on Tuesday and refused to back Miller's "assassin" description -- while insisting that under-fire Homeland Security chief Kristi Noem would not step down.
From Barron's • Jan. 27, 2026
Senior presidential adviser Stephen Miller called Pretti a "would-be assassin".
From BBC • Jan. 26, 2026
Wrinkling her nose at the sudden smell, the assassin walked past cages and stalls filled with dogs of many different breeds.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
