assassinate vs defame

assassinate and defame both are verbs.

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

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

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

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

assassinate (verb)	defame (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