decapitate
/dɪˈkap.ɪt.eɪt/
"decapitate" is a 10-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“decapitate” is uncommon English (frequency #62,089 among 3,470 “D” headwords), classed as a verb. The kind of spelling people second-guess.
- #62,089
- frequency rank, English
- 3,470
- “D” headwords
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - To remove the head of.
Corpus desk
Index EN-decapitate · decapitate · English
decapitate · rank #62,089 · 0 variants · 0 confusables
- FREQ-RARE #62,089
- LEN-MEGA 10 letters
- VOW-5 5 vowels
- CONFUS-0 No pairs
- VAR-0 0 variants
- BOOK-MID 3,470
- PHOTO-FINISH dayum
Nearest frequency peer: dayum (-2 rank slots)
Read with this headword: Spelling guide for this pattern
Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.
Long-tail ranks near “decapitate”
Sparse band: bars invert rank so rarer forms read shorter
- dasha
dasha
37,915 corpus weight
- dayum
dayum
37,914 corpus weight
- decapitate
decapitate
37,912 corpus weight
- Denby
Denby
37,910 corpus weight
- derisive
derisive
37,909 corpus weight
- desperado
desperado
37,908 corpus weight
What this shows Long-tail view: where “decapitate” sits against similarly uncommon English ranks.
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | decapitate |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Verb |
| IPA | /dɪˈkap.ɪt.eɪt/ |
| Letters | 10 |
| Frequency rank | #62,089 |
| Misspellings tracked | 0 |
| Confusable pairs | 0 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Long-tail rank of “decapitate” in English
Rare enough to double-check
decapitate is uncommon English at frequency #62,089 among 3,470 “D” headwords, classed as averb, transcribed /dɪˈkap.ɪt.eɪt/. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 2 senses are on record.
Our edit-distance generator produced no likely misspellings for decapitate, a sign its spelling follows regular English conventions. No confusable counterpart is on file for this word, a sign it's visually distinctive enough not to be mixed up with another word.
Etymologically, the entry records: From French décapiter, from Late Latin decapitare, from de- + caput. The correct English form is decapitate, spelled D-E-C-A-P-I-T-A-T-E.
Definition
- 1To remove the head of.
- 2To oust or destroy the leadership or ruling body of (a government etc.).
Recorded use
Wiktionary examplesThese source excerpts show how decapitate appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.
One machine in which Mr. Taylor takes special pride is a salmon canner, which engulfs a whole salmon, decapitates and decaudates it, skins it, blows out its viscera, cuts it into pieces, deposits them in the can, sterilizes them […]
The hippie wasn't wearing any shoes. January in Boston and he's in sandals, standing there screaming, “Look what she did! Look what the crazy fucking bitch did!” --like it was my pleasure to risk decapitating myself by slamming through the hippiemobile.
Etymology
From French décapiter, from Late Latin decapitare, from de- + caput.
Antonyms
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "decapitate"?
What does "decapitate" mean?
How do you pronounce "decapitate"?
What is the origin of the word "decapitate"?
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Similar English words by spelling shape
Same letter count and similar misspelling depth for "decapitate", not the corpus desk frequency band.
Same letter count
Frequency-ranked English headwords with 10 letters (nearest by frequency rank).