decapitate

[ dih-kap-i-teyt ]

/ dɪˈkæp ɪˌteɪt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR decapitate ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), de·cap·i·tat·ed, de·cap·i·tat·ing.

to cut off the head of; behead: Many people were decapitated during the French Revolution.

RELATED WORDS

Nearby words

decanormal, decant, decanter, decapacitation, decapitalize, decapitate, decapitation, decapod, decapolis, decapsulate, decapsulation

Origin of decapitate

1605–15; < Late Latin dēcapitātus, past participle of dēcapitāre, equivalent to dē- de- + capit- (stem of caput) head + -ātus -ate¹

Related forms

de·cap·i·ta·tion, nounde·cap·i·ta·tor, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for decapitate

They decapitate those men deemed foes of their faith and celebrate the gore online, holding up the severed heads.
Inside the Mind of an ISIS Jihadi|Jamie Dettmer|September 21, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Maybe the Republicans will attempt to decapitate the federal government by leaving it without major cabinet officials.
Washington’s Endless Civil War|Robert Shrum|January 11, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The plane stopped a good hundred meters from where we are standing but it looks like it is going to decapitate us.
‘Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy’: Oscar Nominees Gary Oldman and Peter Straughan|Lorenza Muñoz|February 15, 2012|DAILY BEAST
During the run-up to that war, the world was assured it would be a quick, painless fight intended only to decapitate the regime.
Cheat Sheet: Should the U.S. Intervene in Libya?|The Daily Beast|March 8, 2011|DAILY BEAST

The censor can decapitate ideas which but for him might have lived forever.
Pieces of Hate|Heywood Broun
When one of them is killed, rather than allow the enemy to take his head, they decapitate him themselves, and bring his head back.
Children of Borneo|Edwin Herbert Gomes
The head-ax is a long blade turned at just the proper angle to decapitate the victim scientifically.
The Great White Tribe in Filipinia|Paul T. Gilbert
He has allowed the Franks 223 to decapitate me, but for a time only, and as you see me now I am only a phantom.
Legends & Romances of Brittany|Lewis Spence
This last is a very unpleasant idea, and helps to decapitate three unoffending primroses.
Faith and Unfaith|Duchess

British Dictionary definitions for decapitate

decapitate

/ (dɪˈkæpɪˌteɪt) /

verb

(tr) to behead

Derived Forms

decapitation, noundecapitator, noun

Word Origin for decapitate

C17: from Late Latin dēcapitāre, from Latin de- + caput head

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012