French word

assassiner

Pronunciation

IPA/asasine/

Meaning

  • verbassassinate

Example

Le journaliste a été assassiné hier.

The journalist was assassinated yesterday.

Illustration for assassiner (assassinate)

More examples

Ils ont essayé d'assassiner le témoin.

They tried to assassinate the witness.

Core concept

A targeted killing carried out after someone has been singled out as the victim.

Common phrases

  • assassiner quelqu'un

    assassinate someone

  • assassiner un dirigeant

    assassinate a leader

Similar words

tuer: To cause a person's death.
exécuter: To put someone to death under a lawful judgment or order.
abattre: To kill someone by shooting them.
éliminer: To remove an unwanted person by killing them.

Definition in French

Mettre fin à la vie d'une personne de façon ciblée et préméditée, en cherchant à éliminer une personne précise.

Word origin

French adopted assassiner through Italian from the medieval term assassin, whose history leads back to Arabic ḥashshāshīn.

Usage tips

  • The passive form keeps the targeted sense: être assassiné means to be deliberately killed as a chosen victim, not merely to die.

Other meanings

  • murderverb

Opposites

Related words

Word lists with this word