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decapitate

[dih-kap-i-teyt] / dɪˈkæp ɪˌteɪt /


Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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You cannot decapitate a movement with no head, and you cannot sanction an organization that does not exist.

From Salon Jul. 23, 2026

Mr. Rubio said Sunday it was unrealistic to take more risks in the raid to decapitate more of the regime, which is fair enough.

From The Wall Street Journal Jan. 4, 2026

Bietz, who lives in Hanford, says he didn’t decapitate the animal.

From Los Angeles Times Oct. 2, 2025

Wind shear can decapitate or tip over hurricanes, making them hard to strengthen and at times even stick around.

From Seattle Times May 28, 2022

The poor truck was rattling to the point I expected the hood to fly off and decapitate a couple of pine trees.

From "The Secret Life of Bees" by Sue Monk Kidd

Wind shear often decapitates hurricanes and makes it harder for nascent storms to develop.

From Seattle Times Apr. 7, 2023

Not a lot of wind shear that decapitates storms?

From Seattle Times Aug. 31, 2022

In one telling poem, frost blithely decapitates an innocent flower in a meaningless show of its power; the flower does not react, because there is nothing unusual or objectionable about this tragedy.

From Slate May 17, 2016

She decapitates a squirming mealworm with her gloved thumb and feeds it with forceps to an injured, .014-ounce Eastern pipistrelle bat that probably was creamed by a car.

From Washington Post Jul. 25, 2011

The porpoises know it also; they have a way of biting the cuttle-fish which decapitates it.

From Toilers of the Sea by Victor Hugo

Managing to survive two wars, a decapitated leadership, gutted air and naval defenses, weakened proxies and a spiraling economy have allowed it to play a weak hand strongly.

From The Wall Street Journal Aug. 13, 2026

The sense of vulnerability is tangible - command centres damaged, leadership decapitated, and decision-making compressed into crisis mode.

From BBC Mar. 1, 2026

"Sometimes you'll see ant heads on the bee legs because they were feeding and in response to an attack, the bee bit the ant and decapitated it."

From Science Daily Nov. 13, 2025

"Escape from New York's" poster lingered on the decapitated Statue of Liberty head to suggest a subversive ominous atmosphere.

From Salon Apr. 26, 2024

The golden haze illuminated the edges of the willows and a decapitated angel statue.

From "Shadowshaper" by Daniel José Older

There has to be warm water, it has to run deep and there has to be little to no crosswinds decapitating the storm, he said.

From Seattle Times Aug. 21, 2023

Now paroled, she telegraphs her angst with sunken eyes and chapped lips; the film’s sickly yellow lighting does the same, as does Ruth’s night-shift factory gig decapitating salmon.

From New York Times Dec. 9, 2021

“They like decapitating the tall poppies and taxing until the pips squeak.”

From Washington Times Oct. 6, 2021

As for Mr Essama, he is now less focussed on decapitating statues, turning his attention to fundraising to build statues of Cameroonian heroes and calling for reparations for colonial era crimes.

From BBC Jun. 30, 2020

The Formosans, delighted with this feat of submission, spared the lives of himself and his companions and kept them in prison instead of decapitating them.

From Sir Robert Hart The Romance of a Great Career, 2nd Edition by Juliet Bredon




Vocabulary lists containing decapitate


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