as in to head
to cut off the head of
Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded for plotting against Queen Elizabeth
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Recent Examples of behead
After only five minutes of exposure to the parasite, 22.4% of sperm cells were beheaded.
—
Bill Sullivan, The Conversation, 28 May 2025
The 28 statues of saints were beheaded, mistaken for French kings, and some of the bells were removed and melted down.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor of France with the pope in attendance in Notre-Dame, and portions of the cathedral were restored.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 21 May 2025
The lamplight of Louisville, seen from the river, became a chain of beacon fires bringing news from Old Europe, where King Louis XVI, who gave the city its name, would be beheaded.
—Jonathon Sturgeon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
The group beheaded Palmyra's head of antiquities, Khaled al-Assad, and then systematically blew up several of the ancient city's most important monuments.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 17 Apr. 2025
But would you rather be blasted by tiny pieces — which really hurts — or beheaded or stabbed in the heart by a large shard with tape dangling off of it?
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
Men on electric scooters zoomed past a square where prisoners used to be beheaded, now a few blocks away from a gleaming new metro station.
—Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 16 May 2025
The Scholl siblings, their friends and their professor were beheaded for urging students at the University of Munich to oppose the Nazi regime.
—Peter Nguyen, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025
But recently in the DRC, where 95% of the population are Christian, no one stopped Islamist rebels from forcing 70 Christians into a church where they were butchered, beheaded with machetes.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Bill Sullivan, The Conversation, 28 May 2025
The 28 statues of saints were beheaded, mistaken for French kings, and some of the bells were removed and melted down.
1804: Napoleon Bonaparte crowned himself emperor of France with the pope in attendance in Notre-Dame, and portions of the cathedral were restored.
—Marla Jo Fisher, Oc Register, 21 May 2025
The lamplight of Louisville, seen from the river, became a chain of beacon fires bringing news from Old Europe, where King Louis XVI, who gave the city its name, would be beheaded.
—Jonathon Sturgeon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Apr. 2025
The group beheaded Palmyra's head of antiquities, Khaled al-Assad, and then systematically blew up several of the ancient city's most important monuments.
—Jane Arraf, NPR, 17 Apr. 2025
But would you rather be blasted by tiny pieces — which really hurts — or beheaded or stabbed in the heart by a large shard with tape dangling off of it?
—Howard Cohen, Miami Herald, 28 May 2025
Men on electric scooters zoomed past a square where prisoners used to be beheaded, now a few blocks away from a gleaming new metro station.
—Vivian Nereim, New York Times, 16 May 2025
The Scholl siblings, their friends and their professor were beheaded for urging students at the University of Munich to oppose the Nazi regime.
—Peter Nguyen, The Conversation, 30 Apr. 2025
But recently in the DRC, where 95% of the population are Christian, no one stopped Islamist rebels from forcing 70 Christians into a church where they were butchered, beheaded with machetes.
—Paul Tilsley, FOXNews.com, 21 Apr. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for behead
Verb
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Late sub Uchenna Kanu headed in a corner kick in the 88th minute to bring Louisville within one.—
PJ Green,
Kansas City Star,
15 June 2025
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For more Cleveland Browns and NFL news, head over to Newsweek Sports.—
Evan Massey,
MSNBC Newsweek,
15 June 2025
Verb
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Authorities have yet to share further details, meaning there’s still some mystery left as to who’s responsible for decapitating the statue, and where it’s been hiding all these years.—
Jon Blistein,
Rolling Stone,
19 May 2025
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Some victims were mutilated, and many were decapitated.—
Monica Mercuri,
Forbes.com,
16 May 2025
Cite this Entry
“Behead.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/behead. Accessed 18 Jun. 2025.
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