Thesaurus results for BEHEADING

beheading

verb

present participle of behead

as in heading

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

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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 beheading When their younger son told them Daniel was watching beheading videos online, the Fischers hit their breaking point. — Jeff Winter, CNN Money, 28 Sep. 2026 Images often associated with barbarism on screen, like beheading the dead to memorialize them, are approached with an uncanny gentleness. — Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 20 Sep. 2026 In connection with the beheading threat, he was arrested on suspicion of making an interstate threatening communication. — Emerson Clarridge, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Aug. 2026 Prosecutors have accused Chesser of murdering Story at their apartment and then beheading him and burning his body. — Escher Walcott, PEOPLE, 11 Aug. 2026 Eight pages later, Leucippe has to fake her own beheading to escape from pirates. — Literary Hub, 30 June 2026 D'Arcy and Matt Smith address the aftermath of Jace's death and that beheading. — Nick Romano, Entertainment Weekly, 29 June 2026 Preparing whole fish usually entails deboning, scaling, gutting, and beheading the sea creature, a task for you—or your fishmonger. — Randi Gollin, Martha Stewart, 12 Jan. 2026 On subsequent songs, Ninajirachi sings about the destruction of her innocence through sexting, and the trauma of coming across a beheading video. — Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 12 Dec. 2025

Recent Examples of Synonyms for beheading

Verb

New restaurants are opening in the Sacramento region this fall, from a downtown Vietnamese kitchen to a Southern California coffee chain heading to Folsom.

— Sacbee.com, Sacbee.com, 26 Oct. 2026
What’s happening Yardzen’s report flags the Party Patio as one of eight dominant directions heading into next year.

— Lauren Schuster, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 26 Oct. 2026

Definition of heading

Verb

An Alabama man is accused of decapitating two family members with a chainsaw after a relative called 911 about his behavior.

— Leigh Egan, FOXNews.com, 24 Oct. 2026
Prosecutors said boater Richard Stevenson, of Lisle, was intoxicated and traveling at about 80 mph in July on the river when his pontoon hit a boat carrying Magdalena Jablonska of Des Plaines, decapitating her, authorities said.

— Robert McCoppin, Chicago Tribune, 7 Sep. 2026

Definition of decapitating

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“Beheading.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/beheading. Accessed 27 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of beheading

verb

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