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Glite Dictionary
executioner

executioner

47 7.2
A person who puts someone to death as a legal punishment
  • noun
  • /ˌɛk.sɪˈkjuː.ʃən.ər/
  • NSFW
: verdugo
  • The axe has fallen on our literary enterprise, and before you stands the grim figure of the executioner.
  • executioners and victims
  • judge and executioner
  • jury and executioner

I am an executioner, but at the same time I'm a good friend and a good father.

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Examples

  • Then he looked his executioner squarely in the eye, as if resigned to his fate.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Well, they said I was to be the executioner, so I come all fixed.

    The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)

  • I am an executioner, but at the same time I'm a good friend and a good father.

    Harvard University

  • You have deemed yourself judge, jury and executioner, have you not?

    Napoleon (2023)

  • Self-appointed judge, jury, and executioner.

    Alex Cross (2012)

  • At first, he blessed his executioner, but soon enough his prayers turned into screams.

    Fiction book (2000)

  • Hell, boy, in Allenville, I'm the judge, I'm the jury, and in your particular case, I'm the executioner.

    The Longest Yard (2005)

  • The executioner pushes a button which starts an irreversible execution process.

    Citizen Verdict (2003)

  • The prisoners are led to the scaffold, where the hooded executioner waits, along with the Chieftain.

    Fiction book (1991)

  • The executioner carried out the sentence with a heavy heart, knowing the weight of his role.

Synonyms

hangman
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
8 7.3

A person who kills prisoners with a rope as punishment

carries out death sentences by any lawful method, not only hanging
headsman
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A man who kills people by cutting off their heads

is the present official role that applies across eras and methods
electrocutioner
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A person who puts a prisoner to death using an electric chair

is the general official who may use various legally approved methods
beheader
vsexecutioner
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person or machine that cuts off people's heads to kill them

focuses on the official duty to carry out lawful death sentences
public executioner
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
1 9.0

An official who carries out death sentences in front of people

is the official role without focus on public setting
headman
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
1 9.9

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

is the general official role without specifying method or gender
hangwoman
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
1 9.9

A woman who kills people as a legal punishment by placing a rope around their neck

is any official who carries out sentences, not defined by gender
headswoman
vsexecutioner
  • NSFW
9.9

A woman who beheads people sentenced to death

is the neutral official role not specifying gender or execution method

Compounds

public executioner
  • NSFW
1 9.0

An official who carries out death sentences in front of people

How Deadly

assassin
  • NSFW
238 6.3
slayer
  • NSFW
139 6.5
killer
  • NSFW
∞ 1.9
executioner
  • NSFW
47 7.2
attacker
174 2.5

Surface Forms

executioner singular
executioners plural

Morphology

executioner = execution (semi-transparent) = execute + ion + er

The form is clearly built from 'execution' plus '-er', but the meaning is specialized to the person who carries out a death sentence rather than a fully general agent noun.

Etymology

The word executioner comes from the verb execute, which means 'to carry out', plus the ending -er meaning 'a person who does something'. So an executioner is literally 'a person who carries out' a sentence, which is why it refers to the official who carries out a death sentence.