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as‧sas‧sin‧ate
[transitive]
[transitive]a plot to assassinate the President ➔ see usage note kill1WORD CHOICE: WORD CHOICE:
kill, murder, execute, put to death, kill yourself, commit suicide, slaughter, massacre, assassinateThere are many different words meaning to kill someone. Kill is the most general • He says he did not mean to kill his wife. • Thousands of soldiers were killed in the war.Use murder to talk about deliberately killing someone, especially after planning to do it • He is charged with murdering a policeman.When you are talking about killing someone as a punishment for a crime, use execute or put someone to death • He was executed by a firing squad. • the first person to be put to death in San Quentin jailIf someone deliberately causes their own death, say that they commit suicide or that someone kills himself or herself • the feeling of hopelessness that led him to commit suicide, • It was not the first time she had tried to kill herself. Slaughter and massacre mean to violently kill a large number of people who cannot defend themselves. These words are used mainly in writing or journalism • Hundreds of innocent civilians were slaughtered. • Soldiers massacred 900 men, women, and children in the village.Use assassinate to talk about killing an important person, especially a politician • J.F.Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. ➔ See also kill
WORD CHOICE: kill, murder, execute, put to death, kill yourself, commit suicide, slaughter, massacre, assassinateThere are many different words meaning to kill someone. Kill is the most general • He says he did not mean to kill his wife. • Thousands of soldiers were killed in the war.Use murder to talk about deliberately killing someone, especially after planning to do it • He is charged with murdering a policeman.When you are talking about killing someone as a punishment for a crime, use execute or put someone to death • He was executed by a firing squad. • the first person to be put to death in San Quentin jailIf someone deliberately causes their own death, say that they commit suicide or that someone kills himself or herself • the feeling of hopelessness that led him to commit suicide, • It was not the first time she had tried to kill herself. Slaughter and massacre mean to violently kill a large number of people who cannot defend themselves. These words are used mainly in writing or journalism • Hundreds of innocent civilians were slaughtered. • Soldiers massacred 900 men, women, and children in the village.Use assassinate to talk about killing an important person, especially a politician • J.F.Kennedy was assassinated in Dallas in 1963. ➔ See also kill
