behead

as in to head
to cut off the head of Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded for plotting against Queen Elizabeth

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of behead According to psychiatrist interviews conducted with his younger sister, Allyn, Kemper cut the hands off of her doll, beheaded and dismembered the family cat, and fantasized about executions and gas chambers. Lynsey Eidell, People.com, 28 Aug. 2025 France has returned three skulls to Madagascar more than a century after they were taken, including one believed to be that of a 19th-century Malagasy king who was beheaded by French troops. Amarachi Orie, CNN Money, 27 Aug. 2025 Less than four months later, Anne Boleyn was beheaded. Maureen Lee Lenker, EW.com, 27 Aug. 2025 All of the workers who are playing the elves have either been killed in horrible ways or beheaded, and their heads are used as tree toppers, and their intestines are strung on the Christmas trees. Simon Thompson, Forbes.com, 22 Aug. 2025 Papa Grant has his bladier searched, beaten and ultimately beheaded for the betrayal. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 8 Aug. 2025 The jihadist groups have been accused of beheading villagers and kidnapping children to be used as laborers or child soldiers. Danielle Wallace, FOXNews.com, 7 Aug. 2025 Chillingly, they were sometimes made double-sided, for greater efficiency—the better to behead two people at a time. The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 31 July 2025 In February, Newsweek reported on how the ADF is believed to have beheaded 70 Christians in a church in the province of North Kivu. Jordan King, MSNBC Newsweek, 28 July 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behead
Verb
  • The versatile, ultra-soft bottoms are made with a light and breathable material that’s ideal for running errands, heading to the gym, curling up on the couch; the list goes on.
    Melony Forcier, PEOPLE, 5 Sep. 2025
  • Wait for 30 minutes after the final lightning or thunder before heading outside again.
    NC Weather Bot, Charlotte Observer, 5 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • That’s not the first time a team mascot has been decapitated.
    Miami Herald Archives, Miami Herald, 3 Sep. 2025
  • Perhaps Clemson feared he'd get decapitated by Whit Weeks and Harold Perkins Jr.
    Matthew Schmidt, MSNBC Newsweek, 3 Sep. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Behead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behead. Accessed 9 Sep. 2025.

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