English Reference
Adjective

beheaded

adj.
C1 Advanced US /bɪˈhɛdɪd/ UK /bɪhˈɛdɪd/ be·head·ed

adj.having the head cut off. It describes someone or something that has been killed or separated from its head.

adj.having had the head severed from the body. Often used as a participial adjective to describe historical figures or statues.


SIMPLE

The museum displays a beheaded statue from ancient Rome.

CONTEXTUAL

Historical records show that the queen was beheaded after being found guilty of treason.

COMPLEX

The archaeologists discovered a series of beheaded figurines, suggesting that the ancient civilization practiced a ritualistic destruction of their idols during times of political transition.

Usage

Often follows a linking verb like 'was' or 'appeared'; can also be used as the past participle of the verb 'behead'.

Charles’s absolutist tendencies led to the schism with parliament, the civil war and, eventually, his death on the scaffold erected just outside the Banqueting House, where he was beheaded on 30 January 1649.

The Guardian· 13 Aug 2026
This entry
Level C1 · Advanced
Frequency Frequent
Updated