Synonyms of behead

behead

verb

bi-ˈhed 

as in to head

to cut off the head of

Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded for plotting against Queen Elizabeth

Synonyms & Similar Words

• head
• decapitate
• guillotine
• trim
• shorten
• scalp
• prune
• decollate

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of behead

Among them was a Nipmuc war leader named Matoonas, who was tied to a tree, shot to death, then beheaded. — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026

When their younger son told them Daniel was watching beheading videos online, the Fischers hit their breaking point. — Jeff Winter, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026

Images often associated with barbarism on screen, like beheading the dead to memorialize them, are approached with an uncanny gentleness. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026

Lizzie’s newfound happiness is shattered at the end of the second episode, however, when Abby enters her stepdaughter’s dovecote and beheads every bird inside after growing increasingly annoyed with their cooing during mating season. — Chris Spargo, PEOPLE, 18 Sep. 2026

Wildlife experts believe the marine mammal was beheaded post-mortem by someone. — ABC News, 18 Sep. 2026

Gross was suspected of a gruesome murder of Ying Li, an employee at a massage parlor who was beheaded in her Northland apartment. — Matthew Kelly, Kansas City Star, 18 Sep. 2026

The caption on the video claims that a group of Muslim extremists kidnapped and beheaded a Christian man for refusing to convert to Islam. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 14 Sep. 2026

In connection with the beheading threat, he was arrested on suspicion of making an interstate threatening communication. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026