Synonyms

decapitate

American

[dih-kap-i-teyt] / dɪˈkæp ɪˌteɪt /

verb (used with object)

decapitated, decapitating

to cut off the head of; behead.

Many people were decapitated during the French Revolution.

decapitate British

/ dɪˈkæpɪˌteɪt /

verb

(tr) to behead

"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

Other Word Forms

decapitation noun
decapitator noun

Etymology

Origin of decapitate

1605–15; < Late Latin dēcapitātus, past participle of dēcapitāre, equivalent to dē- de- + capit- (stem of caput ) head + -ātus -ate ¹

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023