assassin, assassinator, bravo - a murderer (especially one who kills a prominent political figure) who kills by a treacherous surprise attack and often is hired to do the deed; "his assassins were hunted down like animals"; "assassinators of kings and emperors" --1is a kind ofmurderer, liquidator, manslayer --1has particulars: Booth, John Wilkes Booth; Oswald, Lee Harvey Oswald