guillotine

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

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for guillotine
Verb
  • Quite a few designs featured striking swirls, which Daveed says speak to the ways that many Haitian immigrants must travel when heading into the United States for a better life.
    Robyn Mowatt, Essence, 12 Sep. 2025
  • In approximately 14 months, voters will once again head to the polls to vote.
    Kimberly Ross, The Washington Examiner, 12 Sep. 2025
Verb
  • 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 returned three human skulls to Madagascar, including one believed to be that of a king beheaded by French colonial forces during a 19th century massacre.
    Prashant Rao, semafor.com, 28 Aug. 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
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

Cite this Entry

“Guillotine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guillotine. Accessed 13 Sep. 2025.

More from Merriam-Webster on guillotine

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!