sicario
5 synonyms for sicario, grouped by meaning and by how common each one is.
Noun — A hired killer, especially one working for a Latin American drug cartel.
Synonyms
Less common
Still standard English, but they carry more weight.
Rare, literary or technical
Precise, but they will stand out — check the sense before using one.
How to use sicario
The word patterns that sound natural to a native speaker.
a cartel sicario
teenage sicarios
worked as a sicario
Borrowed Spanish; used in English crime reporting and fiction, often italicised on first use.
Etymology
Spanish for 'hired killer', from Latin sicarius 'assassin, dagger-man', from sica 'a curved dagger'.
Full origin of sicario →Frequently asked questions
What is the plural of sicario?
Sicarios, following the Spanish plural. English writing keeps that form rather than adding -es.
Is sicario the same as a cartel member?
Not necessarily. A sicario is specifically the person who carries out killings, the enforcement arm, and may be a low-level contractor rather than part of the organisation's structure. Plenty of cartel members handle logistics, money or product and never kill anyone.
Why is the word so widely known in English?
Largely through coverage of the Mexican drug war and through Denis Villeneuve's 2015 film Sicario, which takes the word as its title and explains it on screen.
