as in headed
to cut off the head of
a particularly gruesome series of murders in which the victims were decapitated
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Recent Examples of decapitated
Several portraits in medallions high on the walls of the cloisters show decapitated Dominican Friars who worked as inquisitors with just a stump for a neck and their heads held in their hands.
—
ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
If Julie was being decapitated by hedge clippers, Shad was cueing her when to start screaming.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Israel has decapitated the Iranian proxy’s leadership and targeted its vast missile array.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
The statue was decapitated in late 2022, though its head has since been reattached.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Her body was found in a duffel bag, nearly decapitated, police said.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
One day, Clark, who rides his recumbent bike into the city, is reporting on a cyclone when he nearly gets decapitated by a flying stop sign.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
After the cartel’s leadership was decapitated by Mexican security forces, Mencho took matters into his own hands by creating a new faction that would come to be known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
—Daniel Depetris, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026
Williams said the body had not been decapitated or frozen, as some news outlets have reported.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
ABC News, 19 Mar. 2026
If Julie was being decapitated by hedge clippers, Shad was cueing her when to start screaming.
—Literary Hub, 13 Mar. 2026
Israel has decapitated the Iranian proxy’s leadership and targeted its vast missile array.
—Tal Shalev, CNN Money, 13 Mar. 2026
The statue was decapitated in late 2022, though its head has since been reattached.
—Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 6 Mar. 2026
Her body was found in a duffel bag, nearly decapitated, police said.
—Chicago Tribune, 4 Mar. 2026
One day, Clark, who rides his recumbent bike into the city, is reporting on a cyclone when he nearly gets decapitated by a flying stop sign.
—Daniel Fienberg, HollywoodReporter, 27 Feb. 2026
After the cartel’s leadership was decapitated by Mexican security forces, Mencho took matters into his own hands by creating a new faction that would come to be known as the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG).
—Daniel Depetris, Mercury News, 26 Feb. 2026
Williams said the body had not been decapitated or frozen, as some news outlets have reported.
—Richard Winton, Los Angeles Times, 25 Feb. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for decapitated
Verb
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My dad glanced behind us once to see if we were being followed, winked at me in the rearview mirror, and then swung our car toward Interstate 80, headed west.—
Zayd Ayers Dohrn,
New Yorker,
28 Mar. 2026
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The decline has taken place across racial and ethnic groups – except for households headed by Asian adults, which fell only slightly from 87% to 83%.—
Marc Ramirez,
USA Today,
28 Mar. 2026
Verb
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While Elizabeth's Buffy does get beheaded late in Scary Movie, most of the characters have died and then magically been fine once the next outing begins.—
Derek Lawrence,
Entertainment Weekly,
13 Mar. 2026
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After years of scrutiny and criticism over his ties with Epstein, his arrest was the first for a senior royal since Charles I, who was beheaded for treason in 1649.—
Alexander Smith,
NBC news,
20 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Decapitated.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decapitated. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
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