as in to head
to cut off the head of
Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded for plotting against Queen Elizabeth
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Recent Examples of behead
Men on electric scooters zoomed past a square where prisoners used to be beheaded, now a few blocks away from a gleaming new metro station.
—
Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 16 May 2025
The Scholl siblings, their friends and their professor were beheaded for urging students at the University of Munich to oppose the Nazi regime.
—Peter Nguyen, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025
But recently in the DRC, where 95% of the population are Christian, no one stopped Islamist rebels from forcing 70 Christians into a church where they were butchered, beheaded with machetes.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
As the emboldened queen is beheaded, King Henry is seen preparing to wed his third wife, the pious and soft-spoken Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips).
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 23 Mar. 2025
Dugin claims to be descended from a radical priest who was beheaded by the state, and the proof of it may be in his fearlessly splenetic Limonka columns.
—James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
Three men who supported the Islamic State group were convicted of beheading the victims and sentenced to death—the first such penalty in Morocco since 1993.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
The father was beheaded by the militants, according to OD field contacts.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The real-life Cromwell was beheaded in 1540 on orders from Henry VIII.
—Sean Piccoli, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 16 May 2025
The Scholl siblings, their friends and their professor were beheaded for urging students at the University of Munich to oppose the Nazi regime.
—Peter Nguyen, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025
But recently in the DRC, where 95% of the population are Christian, no one stopped Islamist rebels from forcing 70 Christians into a church where they were butchered, beheaded with machetes.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
As the emboldened queen is beheaded, King Henry is seen preparing to wed his third wife, the pious and soft-spoken Jane Seymour (Kate Phillips).
—Aramide Tinubu, Variety, 23 Mar. 2025
Dugin claims to be descended from a radical priest who was beheaded by the state, and the proof of it may be in his fearlessly splenetic Limonka columns.
—James Verini, The New Yorker, 1 Mar. 2025
Three men who supported the Islamic State group were convicted of beheading the victims and sentenced to death—the first such penalty in Morocco since 1993.
—Ross Rosenfeld, MSNBC Newsweek, 23 Apr. 2025
The father was beheaded by the militants, according to OD field contacts.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 20 Apr. 2025
The real-life Cromwell was beheaded in 1540 on orders from Henry VIII.
—Sean Piccoli, Deadline, 5 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behead
Verb
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Now, a La Plaza Bakery opens before sunrise and caters to workers headed to the fields, and restaurants line the streets.—
Melissa Gomez,
Los Angeles Times,
10 May 2025
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Even in Arcadia, the brand new full-length from Sleep Token, arrived on Friday (May 9), and it’s headed for a sizable debut on the Billboard charts in just a few days.—
Hugh McIntyre,
Forbes.com,
10 May 2025
Verb
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The remains showed signs of severe injuries, and many had been decapitated.—
Sarah Kuta,
Smithsonian Magazine,
28 Apr. 2025
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The man, who archaeologists estimated was between 26 years and 35 years old, also appears to have been decapitated following his demise, which may have been part of a Roman burial ritual then.—
Paul Smaglik,
Discover Magazine,
23 Apr. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Behead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behead. Accessed 24 May. 2025.
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