Synonyms for guillotine


Grammar : Verb
Spell : gil-uh-teen, gee-uh-; verb gil-uh-teen, gee-uh-
Phonetic Transcription : ˈgɪl əˌtin, ˈgi ə-; verb ˌgɪl əˈtin, ˌgi ə-


Définition of guillotine

Origin :
  • "The name of the machine in which the axe descends in grooves from a considerable height so that the stroke is certain and the head instantly severed from the body." ["Universal Magazine of Knowledge and Pleasure," January 1793], 1791, from French guillotine, named in recognition of French physician Joseph Guillotin (1738-1814), who as deputy to the National Assembly (1789) proposed, for humanitarian and efficiency reasons, that capital punishment be carried out by beheading quickly and cleanly on a machine, which was built in 1791 and first used the next year. The verb is first attested 1794. Related: Guillotined; guillotining.
  • verb decapitate
Example sentences :
  • He did not quite see the connection between the bon-bons and the guillotine.
  • Extract from : « Night and Morning, Complete » by Edward Bulwer-Lytton
  • It was now half-past three, and the guillotine was nearly ready.
  • Extract from : « The Three Cities Trilogy, Complete » by Emile Zola
  • You know it is a capital crime, to mourn for, or sympathise with, a victim of the Guillotine.
  • Extract from : « A Tale of Two Cities » by Charles Dickens
  • Not merely the cannons and rifles, but even the guillotine and the gallows were at rest.
  • Extract from : « Freeland » by Theodor Hertzka
  • It was his fate to escape the gallows in England and the guillotine in France.
  • Extract from : « Shelley, Godwin and Their Circle » by H. N. Brailsford
  • Anti-republicans can only expiate their folly under the age of the guillotine.
  • Extract from : « Memoirs of the Court of St. Cloud, Complete » by Lewis Goldsmith
  • Didn't the father cut his own throat to save the guillotine the trouble of doing so?
  • Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola
  • No, the guillotine was not enough; he deserved to be cut into little pieces.
  • Extract from : « L'Assommoir » by Emile Zola
  • His eyes assumed a soft ecstatic expression at the mention of the guillotine.
  • Extract from : « The Fat and the Thin » by Emile Zola
  • At this thought, they imagined they were being pursued and dragged to the guillotine.
  • Extract from : « Therese Raquin » by Emile Zola

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Based on : Thesaurus.com - Gutenberg.org - Dictionary.com - Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019