As*sas"sin*ate (&?;), v. t. [imp. & p. p. Assassinated (&?;); p. pr. & vb. n. Assassinating (&?;).] [LL. assassinatus, p. p. of assassinare.] 1. To kill by surprise or secret assault; to murder by treacherous violence.

Help, neighbors, my house is broken open by force, and I am ravished, and like to be assassinated.
Dryden.

2. To assail with murderous intent; hence, by extended meaning, to maltreat exceedingly. [Archaic]

Your rhymes assassinate our fame.
Dryden.

Such usage as your honorable lords
Afford me, assassinated and betrayed.
Milton.

Syn. -- To kill; murder; slay. See Kill.

As*sas"sin*ate (&?;), n. [F. assassinat.] 1. An assassination, murder, or murderous assault. [Obs.]

If I had made an assassinate upon your father.
B. Jonson.

2. An assassin. [Obs.] Dryden.

• To murder someone, especially an important person, by a sudden or obscure attack, especially for ideological or political reasons.
  
• Figurative. To harm, ruin, or defame severely or destroy by treachery, slander, libel, or obscure attack.