Thesaurus results for HEADSMAN

headsman

noun

Definition of headsman

as in executioner

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Example Sentences

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 headsman There’s dungeons or the headsman’s block for someone with that many secrets to spill. — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026 Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman. — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives. — Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland. — Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017 Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet. — David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012

Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman

Noun

Rather, the state may employ executioners with limited technical expertise and often no experience in basic anatomy or medical care.

— Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
Pike, 50, suffered burns and blisters to her arms and her prognosis remains uncertain after executioners tried to give her two lethal doses of pentobarbital, her legal team said Wednesday.

— Kate Brumback, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of executioner

Noun

The former cop also claimed to have found a hangman’s noose under Epstein’s mattress.

— Brian Niemietz, New York Daily News, 16 June 2026
Even-handed, compassionate, and as suffocatingly tense as a hangman's noose, Munich is Spielberg's most underrated film.

— Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly, 13 June 2026

Definition of hangman

Noun

The New Mexico attorney general filed a lawsuit Wednesday against two of Jeffrey Epstein's closest confidants, seeking to stop them from receiving payments for serving as executors of his estate.

— Graham Kates, CBS News, 21 Oct. 2026
Epstein owned the Zorro Ranch for decades Earlier this year, Indyke and Kahn agreed as executors of the estate to settle a class-action lawsuit brought against them by Epstein accusers for up to $35 million.

— Susan Montoya Bryan, Los Angeles Times, 21 Oct. 2026

Definition of executor

Noun

That’s because Kansas City’s five victories haven’t exactly come against a murderer’s row of opponents.

— Andy Scholes, CNN Money, 22 Oct. 2026
Here, however, the show pulls a fast one, revealing that the murderer isn’t Pam, but instead a young girl named Grace (Gwendolyn Sundstrom).

— Louis Peitzman, Vulture, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of murderer

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

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Synonyms of headsman

noun

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