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
Around the same time, a statue of Columbus in a park bearing his name in Boston was beheaded in the dead of night.
—
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Walt Disney Imagineering updated the storyline of Black Widow Bride Constance Hatchway earlier this year by turning her from an axe murderer who beheads her wealthy husbands into a more mournful figure overwhelmed by the dread of lost love.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
More than 30 Christians were beheaded in Mozambique last month, with churches and homes burned down, according to a new report.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The Barcelona delegate, as portrayed by an overly ceceando Mikey Day, suggested skipping the tiresome lecture, only to be taken off camera to be beheaded.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2025
The first two of these were found out and, unfortunately for them, beheaded, but fake news had a strong grip.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2025
As king, Shakespeare’s Macbeth meets a tragic end when civil war erupts and his rival Macduff beheads him.
—Marlene L. Daut
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
After beheading Nagamallaiah, Cobos-Martinez allegedly placed the victim’s head in a dumpster.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Journalist Daniel Pearl getting beheaded in 2002.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 13 Oct. 2025
Walt Disney Imagineering updated the storyline of Black Widow Bride Constance Hatchway earlier this year by turning her from an axe murderer who beheads her wealthy husbands into a more mournful figure overwhelmed by the dread of lost love.
—Brady MacDonald, Oc Register, 13 Oct. 2025
More than 30 Christians were beheaded in Mozambique last month, with churches and homes burned down, according to a new report.
—Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 8 Oct. 2025
The Barcelona delegate, as portrayed by an overly ceceando Mikey Day, suggested skipping the tiresome lecture, only to be taken off camera to be beheaded.
—Natalie Oganesyan, Deadline, 4 Oct. 2025
The first two of these were found out and, unfortunately for them, beheaded, but fake news had a strong grip.
—Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 28 Sep. 2025
As king, Shakespeare’s Macbeth meets a tragic end when civil war erupts and his rival Macduff beheads him.
—Marlene L. Daut
september 22, Literary Hub, 22 Sep. 2025
After beheading Nagamallaiah, Cobos-Martinez allegedly placed the victim’s head in a dumpster.
—Nic F. Anderson, CNN Money, 13 Sep. 2025
Journalist Daniel Pearl getting beheaded in 2002.
—James Hibberd, HollywoodReporter, 12 Sep. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behead
Verb
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On a dark, drizzling January evening in 2014, Alyssa Gehman headed out to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington state to catch the midnight tide.—
JSTOR Daily,
JSTOR Daily,
17 Oct. 2025
-
In the 39th minute, Johanna Rytting Kaneryd powerfully headed home from another excellent Thompson run and cross.—
Cerys Jones,
New York Times,
16 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Hamas, weakened militarily and decapitated by the assassinations of its leaders, faces isolation abroad and a diminished mandate at home.—
Mohammed R. Mhawish,
New Yorker,
14 Oct. 2025
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Worden’s body had been decapitated, gutted and hung by its feet like a deer.—
Keith Langston,
PEOPLE,
11 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Behead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behead. Accessed 20 Oct. 2025.
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