assassinate vs besmirch

assassinate and besmirch both are verbs.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
assassinate	No	No	Yes	No
besmirch	No	No	Yes	No

As verbs, besmirch is a hypernym of assassinate; that is, besmirch is a word with a broader meaning than assassinate:

assassinate: destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation
besmirch: charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone

Other hypernyms of assassinate include asperse, calumniate, defame, denigrate, slander, smear, smirch, sully.

assassinate (verb)	besmirch (verb)
destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone
murder; especially of socially prominent persons	smear so as to make dirty or stained