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Glite Dictionary
assassinated

assassinated

6.3
Killed suddenly for political or religious reasons, often by a surprise attack
  • adjective
  • /əˈsæsɪneɪtɪd/
  • NSFW
translation icon : asesinado
  • After he was assassinated, his legacy continued to inspire those fighting for justice.

Examples

  • Many political leaders throughout history have been assassinated to silence their opposition.

  • Poor schools, bad teachers, meager resources, abject racism, and assassinated leaders.

  • Poor schools, bad teachers, meager resources, abject racism, and assassinated leaders.

  • The journalist uncovered a plot to assassinate a prominent activist who had been assassinated last year.

Synonyms

slain
vsassassinated
  • Literature
18 9.1

No longer alive because someone killed them, often in battle

is a sudden politically or religiously motivated killing rather than battle death
murdered
vsassassinated
3.0

A person killed illegally by another person

is a sudden killing done for political or religious reasons

Antonyms

to survive
∞ 2.7

Continue to exist after a dangerous or difficult event

Surface Forms

assassinated positive

Morphology

assassinated = assassinate (transparent) = assassin + ate + ed

Clear and regular formation: 'assassinate' (verb) + past-participial '-ed' yields the adjectival/past form.

Etymology

The word assassinated comes from assassin, which comes from the Arabic hashshashin, meaning 'hashish users'. One popular story says these secret killers used hashish and carried out surprise attacks, so assassinated now means a sudden, often political murder.