decapitate
verb
Did you know?
Decapitation is a quick and fairly painless way to go, so it was once considered suitable only for nobles like Sir Walter Raleigh, Mary Queen of Scots, and two of Henry VIII's unfortunate wives. The invention of the guillotine in the 18th century was meant to make execution swifter and more painless than hanging or a badly aimed blow by the executioner's sword.
Examples of decapitate in a Sentence
Tom Smyth, Vulture, 19 May 2024
In 1896, a 22-year-old music student was found decapitated in Fort Thomas; her head has never been located.
—Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 7 Jan. 2024
Thomas Humphrey, 47, was arrested late last year for the murder of Linda Tufts, 70, at their home in Goffstown, just outside Manchester, N.H.
He’s accused of stabbing his mother 22 times, almost decapitating her, and then lighting her body on fire.
—Muri Assunção, New York Daily News, 5 June 2024
It’s got a teeny-tiny brain, but that’s not so important, a fact Levin proved by… decapitating it.
—Sigal Samuel, Vox, 4 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for decapitate 
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Dictionary Entries Near decapitate
Cite this Entry
“Decapitate.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/decapitate. Accessed 15 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
decapitate
verb
derived from Latin decapitare "to cut off the head of," from de- "from, away" and caput "head" — related to capital
Medical Definition
decapitate
1 of 2 transitive verb
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