decapitate

verb

di-ˈka-pə-ˌtāt How to pronounce decapitate (audio)
Definition of decapitatenext
as in to head
to cut off the head of a particularly gruesome series of murders in which the victims were decapitated

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for decapitate
  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
  • For example, Salvatore Ramos, who in 2022 killed 19 kids and 2 teachers in Uvalde Texas, boasted on line about torturing animals, even going so far as to share videos of himself beheading animals.
    — Diana Urban, Hartford Courant, 27 Oct. 2026
  • The man accused of using a sledgehammer to behead a Marine figure on an Iwo Jima monument near Quantico, Virginia, was granted bond Monday morning.
    — Sophia Compton , Jake Gibson, FOXNews.com, 26 Oct. 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

decants
decapitate
decapitated
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Decapitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/decapitate. Accessed 28 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

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

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of grotesque

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World

Why do we 'bury the lede?'

'Za' and 9 Other Words to Help You Win at SCRABBLE
See More

Popular

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All