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
But would you rather be blasted by tiny pieces — which really hurts — or beheaded or stabbed in the heart by a large shard with tape dangling off of it?
—
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
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
Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
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
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behead
Verb
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According to previous Idaho Statesman reporting, the vehicle drove westbound toward Boise before jumping the median and heading back toward Mountain Home.—
Shaun Goodwin,
Idaho Statesman,
4 June 2025
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Jennifer Lorentz heads the Diversion Unit in the office of the St. Louis Circuit Attorney, the city’s chief prosecutor.—
Bram Sable-Smith,
CNN Money,
3 June 2025
Verb
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Authorities have yet to share further details, meaning there’s still some mystery left as to who’s responsible for decapitating the statue, and where it’s been hiding all these years.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
19 May 2025
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Some victims were mutilated, and many were decapitated.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Behead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behead. Accessed 13 Jun. 2025.
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