guillotine

verb

Definition of guillotinenext
as in to head
to cut off the head of French Revolutionary forces captured and guillotined countless aristocrats in the chaotic period following the downfall of the monarchy

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for guillotine
  1. head
  2. behead
Verb
  • The system provides information about an aircraft’s attitude, heading and position to flight-critical systems.
    — Neetika Walter, Interesting Engineering, 17 Oct. 2026
  • As more shoppers and restaurants look for that kind of proof, Von Miller’s chicken farm could end up being an early example of where the meat aisle is headed.
    — Ryan Brennan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 17 Oct. 2026
Definition of head
Verb
  • Thousands were murdered, hundreds were kidnapped, innocent civilians were beheaded, and women were raped.
    — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Among them was a Nipmuc war leader named Matoonas, who was tied to a tree, shot to death, then beheaded.
    — J. B. MacKinnon, Harpers Magazine, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of behead
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

guilelessness
guillotine
guillotined
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Cite this Entry

“Guillotine.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/guillotine. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on guillotine

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about guillotine

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