decapitate

[dih-kap-i-teyt]

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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.

Origin of decapitate

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

Related formsde·cap·i·ta·tion, nounde·cap·i·ta·tor, noun

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

Related Words for decapitate

guillotine, ax, execute, decollate

Examples from the Web for decapitate

Contemporary Examples of 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
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
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
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

Historical Examples of decapitate

But when they have been tried and they have failed, decapitate them.
Vittoria, Complete
George Meredith
The censor can decapitate ideas which but for him might have lived forever.
Pieces of Hate
Heywood Broun
Good policy, perhaps; but it is better to corrupt than to decapitate.
The Man Who Laughs
Victor Hugo
Renata continued to pick violets, and Max to decapitate those he could find.
Christopher Hibbault, Roadmaker
Marguerite Bryant
This cannibal trophy is not a sign of barbarous customs: the Bee does not decapitate Ants to adorn her hut.
Bramble-bees and Others
J. Henri Fabre

British Dictionary definitions for decapitate

decapitate

verb

(tr) to behead

Derived Formsdecapitation, 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

Word Origin and History for decapitate

1610s, from French décapiter (14c.), from Late Latin decapitatus past participle of decapitare, from Latin de- "off" (see de-) + caput (genitive capitis) "head" (see capitulum). Related: Decapitated; decapitating.