slasher vs assailant

slasher and assailant both are nouns.

Word	Noun	Adjective	Verb	Adverb
slasher	Yes	No	No	No
assailant	Yes	No	No	No

As nouns, assailant is a hypernym of slasher; that is, assailant is a word with a broader meaning than slasher:

Other hypernyms of slasher include aggressor, assaulter, attacker.

slasher (noun)	assailant (noun)
a weapon (a sword or dagger) used for slashing	someone who attacks
someone who slashes another person