hangman

noun

Definition of hangmannext
as in executioner

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hangman At the end of long days, Banjo would bring his kids to the office, and the group — Kotwica, Banjo and the kids — would play games of hangman on the greaseboard. — Zack Rosenblatt, New York Times, 22 Aug. 2025 The nursery consists of coral fragments that dangle from hangman structures that the Coral Restoration Foundation put 30 feet under the surface. — Ashley Miznazi, Miami Herald, 17 Aug. 2025 The death penalty has just been abolished in the United Kingdom, and all the townspeople in Oldham want to know what the second-best hangman in the country has to say about it. — Luann Gibbs, The Enquirer, 2 July 2025 Middle East historian Ervand Abrahamian detailed in his 1999 book Tortured Confessions that the committee refused to use a firing squad because of the noise, even when the hangmen complained of the grueling labor involved in hanging so many. — Kasra Naji, Foreign Affairs, 17 Aug. 2016 See All Example Sentences for hangman
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hangman
  1. executioner
  2. headsman
  3. murderer
  4. executor
  5. assassin
Noun
  • Rather, the state may employ executioners with limited technical expertise and often no experience in basic anatomy or medical care.
    — Dr. Jacob Appel, New York Daily News, 8 Oct. 2026
  • Pike, 50, suffered burns and blisters to her arms and her prognosis remains uncertain after executioners tried to give her two lethal doses of pentobarbital, her legal team said Wednesday.
    — Kate Brumback, Los Angeles Times, 8 Oct. 2026
Definition of executioner
Noun
  • There’s dungeons or the headsman’s block for someone with that many secrets to spill.
    — Erik Kain, Forbes.com, 10 Aug. 2026
  • Two other men, subjects of excellent Holbein drawings in the show, would keep appointments with the headsman.
    — Peter Schjeldahl, The New Yorker, 21 Feb. 2022
Definition of headsman
Noun
  • Benjamin Rush, the Philadelphia physician and signer of the Declaration of Independence, opposed executing even murderers.
    — Maurizio Valsania, The Conversation, 14 Oct. 2026
  • Showing mercy to murderers historically has not been popular with voters.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 14 Oct. 2026
Definition of murderer
Noun
  • After Simpson’s death in 1986, her estate (led by Blum, the executor) auctioned off more than 230 lots of jewels and other pieces at a massive two-day sale at Sotheby’s in Geneva.
    — Hadley Hall Meares, Vanity Fair, 7 Oct. 2026
  • When Hanne, a staff member of a struggling animal rescue, unexpectedly becomes executor of a wealthy hunting family’s estate, a bitter battle over the inheritance erupts.
    — Annika Pham, Variety, 6 Oct. 2026
Definition of executor
Noun
  • Today in the age of AI, the threats are not just from a lone assassin's bullet but autonomous attack drones.
    — Norah O'Donnell, CBS News, 11 Oct. 2026
  • Based on Nick Harkaway’s novel The Price You Pay, the show follows Jackie Price, a former drug queenpin hunted by seven elite assassins.
    — Abbey White, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of assassin

Browse Nearby Words

hang loose
hangman
hangmen
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

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

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