headsman

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 headsman Several other leading figures of the period ended their days on the executioner’s block, including the unhappy Comte de Chalais, whose headsman bungled the job and ended up frantically chopping away at his screaming victim with a small hatchet. David A. Bell, Foreign Affairs, 1 Mar. 2012 Even if your reality is the headsman’s block! Helen Shaw, Vulture, 4 Oct. 2021 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 Once upon a time, the queen could have sent rebels to the Tower and the headsman’s block, even relatives—especially relatives. Matt Seaton, The New York Review of Books, 9 Mar. 2021 The British prime minister has assembled a trio of headsmen to sever Britain from the mainland. Vanityfair.com, VanityFair.com, 22 Mar. 2017
Recent Examples of Synonyms for headsman
Noun
  • If the aim of the executioners is not true, death could take time.
    Hannah Parry, Newsweek, 8 Mar. 2025
  • Overbearing: Dave’s Unnamed Sister Dave’s sister is the most malicious kind of elder sis — the kind who views themselves as judge, jury, and executioner of their family’s well-being.
    Anusha Praturu, Vulture, 7 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Did Erik Menendez really play hangman with Leslie Abramson in court?
    Jessica Sager, People.com, 27 Sep. 2024
  • The second story is about Eichmann’s prison guard, Haim (Yoav Levi), a Moroccan Jew who takes pains to make sure his charge is unharmed and delivered to the hangman’s noose in as good a shape as possible.
    Christian Blauvelt, IndieWire, 28 June 2024
Noun
  • As the executor of O.J. Simpson’s estate, Malcolm LaVergne sells Simpson’s assets to pay off leftover debts.
    Liza Esquibias, People.com, 14 Mar. 2025
  • And second, in both titis and Barbaries, females exhibit a high degree of autonomy and are the executors of mate choice.
    Jonathan Granoff, Newsweek, 29 Jan. 2025
Noun
  • If Hamas does not release all the hostages, the gates of hell will open in Gaza, and Hamas' murderers and rapists will face the IDF with unprecedented force.
    James Hider, NPR, 17 Mar. 2025
  • In real life, the probability of a nurse being a murderer in disguise, though not zero, was low, and Lilian did not believe that such a sensational turn was likely to occur to her.
    Yiyun Li, The New Yorker, 9 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Headsman.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/headsman. Accessed 28 Mar. 2025.

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