Talk:Assassination

The changed meaning of the word

It used to be that "assassination" meant the attempt to kill a prominent person - even if it failed. It can be seen in newspaper articles and in dictionary definitions, such as this one from Webster's 1828 edition:

“To kill or attempt to kill, by surprise or secret assault"

It would make sense to include this fact in the article, but I haven't found anything yet that wouldn't be considered original research. Can anyone help? Yitz711 (talk) 21:25, 10 September 2025 (UTC)

JFK not assassinated

This page defines an assassination as being ordered by an individual or organisation, and carried out by an accomplice. Since Oswald acted in isolation and not as an accomplice, I suggest JFK should be removed from the list. He was simply murdered by a murderer.

Perhaps also check if the other three US presidents listed were truly assassinated by an accomplice acting under orders. I am not familiar with their stories, but the person who added all four might have made the same mistake.

Edit: I checked and it also looks like Garfield and McKinley were not assassinated by the definition at the top of the page. Nowater57 (talk) 07:43, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

The error is not in the addition of JFK's killing. It's in the language of the lede. Assassinations are definitely not limited to ones that are carried out on orders from another party.

Merriam Webster: murder by sudden or secret attack often for political reasons : the act or an instance of assassinating someone (such as a prominent political leader)

Britannica: the murder of a public figure. The term typically refers to the killing of government leaders and other prominent persons for political purposes—such as to seize power, to start a revolution, to draw attention to a cause, to exact revenge, or to undermine a regime or its critics.

Cambridge: the murder of someone famous or important

Some really famous killings, always described as assassinations, were done by lone wolves. Yitz711 (talk) 19:03, 11 September 2025 (UTC)

I've tweaked the language in that sentence. It was more prescriptive than accurate. Schazjmd (talk) 17:15, 12 September 2025 (UTC)

"Take one out" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Take one out has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 December 9 § Take one out until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 22:28, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

"Political murder" listed at Redirects for discussion

The redirect Political murder has been listed at redirects for discussion to determine whether its use and function meets the redirect guidelines. Readers of this page are welcome to comment on this redirect at Wikipedia:Redirects for discussion/Log/2025 December 9 § Political murder until a consensus is reached. Steel1943 (talk) 22:34, 9 December 2025 (UTC)

Magnicide

Magnicide links here, but the term is not mentioned and explained in the article. Anonymous44 (talk) 17:17, 27 February 2026 (UTC)

What is it? SergeWoodzing (talk) 20:32, 1 March 2026 (UTC)