assassination

assassination — noun

1. the deliberate killing of a well-known person, such as a president, king, or oth

1.nounB2
Definition

the deliberate killing of a well-known person, such as a president, king, or other public leader, usually planned in advance and carried out for political reasons.

Example

The assassination of President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre shocked the entire nation in 1865.

assassination of + [public figure]

Police arrested two men who were planning the assassination of the prime minister.

planning + an assassination (premeditation)

Common collocations
  • assassination attempt
  • assassination plot
  • political assassination
  • failed assassination
  • assassination threat
  • targeted assassination
Synonyms
  • murder

    general term for any unlawful killing; lacks the political or high-profile element

  • killing

    neutral and broad; doesn't imply planning or a famous victim

  • execution

    suggests a cold, professional method, often by a hitman or state authority

Grammar Patterns

assassination of [person]

assassination attempt

Usage Note

Subject of the killing is almost always a famous public figure — head of state, politician, religious leader, or activist. For ordinary victims, use 'murder' instead. Often appears in the fixed collocations 'assassination attempt' (a try that may fail) and 'assassination plot' (the secret plan).

Common Mistakes

My neighbour was the victim of an assassination last night.
My neighbour was the victim of a murder last night.
assassination is reserved for famous or politically important targets, not private citizens.
The killer carried out an assassination on the shopkeeper.
The killer carried out the assassination of the governor.
use 'assassination of + [public figure]', not 'assassination on + [ordinary person]'.

Word family

  • assassinate
    verbB2
  • assassin
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: noun/1

All four words describe the killing of a person, but they differ in who the victim is and how the act is framed. 'Murder' is the broadest legal term: any unlawful, intentional killing, whether the victim is a stranger in an alley or a head of state. 'Homicide' is even more neutral and is used in police and medical reports to describe any death caused by another person, lawful or not. 'Assassination' narrows the focus sharply: the target must be famous or politically important, and the act is usually planned. 'Execution' suggests a calm, professional method — a sniper, a hired killer, or a formal state punishment. Compare: 'the murder of a shopkeeper', 'the assassination of the king', 'a gangland-style execution outside the courthouse'.

assassination ↗murder ↗execution ↗homicide

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • political assassination
  • failed assassination
  • assassination of a head of state
  • narrow escape from assassination

Prepositions

  • of (a leader)
  • by (a gunman)
  • behind (the assassination)

Etymology

ArabicMedieval LatinItalianFrenchEnglish

Assassination entered English in the late 1500s, formed from the verb 'assassinate' plus the suffix '-ion'. The root traces back, through Medieval Latin and Italian, to the Arabic word 'hashishi', which referred to a secretive 11th-century Islamic group whose members carried out planned killings of political and religious figures. Their reputation for targeted, premeditated violence gave European languages a word for exactly that kind of high-profile killing. Shakespeare helped popularise the noun in 'Macbeth' around 1605.