assassinate vs denigrate

assassinate and denigrate both are verbs.

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

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

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

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

assassinate (verb)	denigrate (verb)
destroy or damage seriously, as of someone's reputation	cause to seem less serious; play down
murder; especially of socially prominent persons	charge falsely or with malicious intent; attack the good name and reputation of someone