guillotine

verb

Definition of guillotinenext
as in to head
to cut off the head of French Revolutionary forces captured and guillotined countless aristocrats in the chaotic period following the downfall of the monarchy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for guillotine
  1. head
  2. behead
Verb
  • His coronation signaled where the genre was headed—away from the pleading old-guard types and toward a more fluid, hardcore hip-hop hybrid.
    — Clover Hope, Pitchfork, 25 Oct. 2026
  • Later in the day, Obama is headed to Detroit to campaign with Democrat Senate nominee Abdul el Sayed, who is embroiled in a tight campaign against GOP candidate Mike Rogers.
    — Emily Hallas, The Washington Examiner, 24 Oct. 2026
Definition of head
Verb
  • Thousands were murdered, hundreds were kidnapped, innocent civilians were beheaded, and women were raped.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Among them was a Nipmuc war leader named Matoonas, who was tied to a tree, shot to death, then beheaded.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of behead
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.

Browse Nearby Words

guilelessness
guillotine
guillotined
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Cite this Entry

“Guillotine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guillotine. Accessed 26 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on guillotine

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guillotine

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