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"
a member of a secret order of Muslims (founded in the 12th century) who terrorized and killed Christian Crusaders
by a small margin; "they could barely hear the speaker"; "we hardly knew them"; "just missed being hit"; "had scarcely rung the bell when the door flew open"; "would have scarce arrived before she would have found some excuse to leave"- W.B.Yeats
to a small degree or extent; "his arguments were somewhat self-contradictory"; "the children argued because one slice of cake was slightly larger than the other"