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crucifier

crucifier

9.9
A person who kills someone by nailing them to a cross as punishment
  • noun
  • /ˈkruːsɪfaɪər/
  • NSFW
translation icon : crucificador
  • The historical record reveals the identity of the crucifier who sentenced the criminal to death on the cross.

Examples

  • In ancient Rome, the role of the crucifier was often carried out by soldiers enforcing capital punishment.

  • Killer crucifier, they were going to kill the family, they were going to come at night with knives, cut all the throats and the animals.

  • As a witness, she described the moment the crucifier raised the hammer to finalize the execution.

Synonyms

executioner
vscrucifier
  • NSFW
47 7.2

A person who puts someone to death as a legal punishment

focuses on killing by a specific public method rather than general legal duty
punisher
vscrucifier
2 5.3

A person who makes someone suffer for doing something wrong

carries out punishment specifically by crucifixion and thus causes death
headman
vscrucifier
  • NSFW
9.9

A person who cuts off someone's head as a punishment

uses crucifixion as the chosen execution method rather than decapitation

Antonyms

21 5.3

A person who frees people from slavery or prison

Surface Forms

crucifier singular
crucifiers plural

Morphology

crucifier = crucify (transparent) = crucify + er

Productive agentive formation: verb 'crucify' + '-er' yields 'one who crucifies', which B1 learners can readily derive.

Etymology

Crucifier comes from the Latin root crux meaning 'cross', because to crucify originally meant to put someone on a cross as a form of punishment. So a crucifier is literally someone who carries out that punishment.