Meanings
nounexecutioner (plural executioners)
plural executioners
- An official person who carries out the capital punishment of a criminal.
He would probably have died by the hand of the executioner, if indeed the executioner had not been anticipated by the populace.
1849–1861, Thomas Babington Macaulay, chapter XX, in The History of England from the Accession of James the Second, volume (please specify |volume=I to V), London: Longman, Brown, Green, and Longmans, →OCLC1 more example
Underpinning that power was a reign of terror the like of which Chechens had not seen since the days of Stalin. Even the Russian contraktniki, or freelance fighters, were not as feared as Mr Kadyrov's private army of kidnappers, torturers and executioners were.
2004 May 11, “Prisoners of the Caucasus”, in The Guardian - archaicExecutor.
- A hit man, especially being in some organization.
Synonyms & antonyms
nounan official who inflicts capital punishment in pursuit of a warrant
Similar
public executioner
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰ
- Proto-Indo-European*h₁éǵʰs
- Proto-Italic*eks
- Latinex
- Latinex-
- Proto-Indo-European*sekʷ-
- Proto-Indo-European*sékʷetor
- Proto-Italic*sekʷōr
- Latinsequor
- Latinexsequor
- Latinexsecūtiō
- Old Frenchexecution
- Englishexecution
- Englishexecutioner
Translations
Ancient Greek σπεκουλάτωρ
- σπεκουλάτωρ (spekoulátōr)the person who carries out the execution
Arabic جَلَّاد
- جَلَّاد (jallād)the person who carries out the execution
Basque borrero
- borrerothe person who carries out the execution
Bengali জল্লাদ
- জল্লাদ (jollad)the person who carries out the execution
Bulgarian пала́ч, джела́т
- пала́ч (paláč)the person who carries out the execution
- джела́т (dželát)the person who carries out the execution
Catalan botxí, botxina
- botxíthe person who carries out the execution
- botxinathe person who carries out the execution
Chinese Mandarin 劊子手 /刽子手, 处刑人
- 劊子手 /刽子手 (guìzishǒu)the person who carries out the execution
- 处刑人 (chǔxíngrén)the person who carries out the execution
- 杀手 (shāshóu)a hit man
Czech kat, popravčí
- katthe person who carries out the execution
- popravčíthe person who carries out the execution
Danish bøddel, skarpretter
- bøddelthe person who carries out the execution
- skarpretterthe person who carries out the execution
Dutch beul
- beulthe person who carries out the execution
Esperanto ekzekutisto
- ekzekutistothe person who carries out the execution
Estonian timukas
- timukasthe person who carries out the execution
Finnish pyöveli, toimeenpanija
- pyövelithe person who carries out the execution
- toimeenpanijasomeone who executes an act or will
French exécuteur des hautes œuvres, bourreau
- exécuteur des hautes œuvresthe person who carries out the execution
- bourreauthe person who carries out the execution
- exécuteur de la haute justicethe person who carries out the execution
- maître des hautes œuvresthe person who carries out the execution
- bourrellethe person who carries out the execution
German Henker, Scharfrichter
- Henkerthe person who carries out the execution
- Scharfrichterthe person who carries out the execution
- Henkerinthe person who carries out the execution
- Scharfrichterinthe person who carries out the execution
Greek εκτελεστής, δήμιος
- εκτελεστής (ektelestís)the person who carries out the execution
- δήμιος (dímios)the person who carries out the execution
- εκτελεστής (ektelestís)someone who executes an act or will
Hebrew תַּלְיָן
- תַּלְיָןthe person who carries out the execution
Hindi बधिक, जल्लाद
- बधिक (badhik)the person who carries out the execution
- जल्लाद (jallād)the person who carries out the execution
Hungarian hóhér
- hóhérthe person who carries out the execution
Icelandic böðull
- böðullthe person who carries out the execution
Indonesian algojo, jalad
- algojothe person who carries out the execution
- jaladthe person who carries out the execution
Irish básadóir, céastúnach
- básadóirthe person who carries out the execution
- céastúnachthe person who carries out the execution
Italian boia, carnefice
- boiathe person who carries out the execution
- carneficethe person who carries out the execution
Japanese 死刑執行人, 処刑人
- 死刑執行人 (shikeishikkōnin)the person who carries out the execution
- 処刑人 (shokeinin)the person who carries out the execution
- 刺客 (shikaku)a hit man
Korean 사형 집행인, 망나니
- 사형 집행인 (sahyeong jiphaeng'in)the person who carries out the execution
- 망나니 (mangnani)the person who carries out the execution
Latin carnifex, carnufex
- carnifexthe person who carries out the execution
- carnufexthe person who carries out the execution
Latvian bende
- bendethe person who carries out the execution
Lithuanian budelis
- budelisthe person who carries out the execution
Malay algojo, pertanda
- algojothe person who carries out the execution
- pertandathe person who carries out the execution
- jaladthe person who carries out the execution
- pelebayathe person who carries out the execution
Māori kaiwhakamate
- kaiwhakamatethe person who carries out the execution
Norwegian bøddel, skarpretter
- bøddelthe person who carries out the execution
- skarpretterthe person who carries out the execution
Persian دژخیم, جلاد
- دژخیم (dežxim)the person who carries out the execution
- جلاد (jallâd)the person who carries out the execution
Polish kat, oprawca
- katthe person who carries out the execution
- oprawcathe person who carries out the execution
Portuguese carrasco, algoz
- carrascothe person who carries out the execution
- algozthe person who carries out the execution
Romanian călău, gâde
- călăuthe person who carries out the execution
- gâdethe person who carries out the execution
- executorsomeone who executes an act or will
- executantsomeone who executes an act or will
- asasina hit man
- ucigașa hit man
Russian пала́ч, экзеку́тор
- пала́ч (paláč)the person who carries out the execution
- экзеку́тор (ekzɛkútor)the person who carries out the execution
- кат (kat)the person who carries out the execution
- душеприка́зчик (dušeprikázčik)someone who executes an act or will
- душеприка́зчица (dušeprikázčica)someone who executes an act or will
- исполни́тель (ispolnítelʹ)someone who executes an act or will
- исполни́тельница (ispolnítelʹnica)someone who executes an act or will
Slovak kat, popravca
- katthe person who carries out the execution
- popravcathe person who carries out the execution
Spanish verdugo, carnífice
- verdugothe person who carries out the execution
- carníficethe person who carries out the execution
- verdugathe person who carries out the execution
- sicarioa hit man
- asesino a sueldoa hit man
Swahili mchinja, mchinjaji
- mchinjathe person who carries out the execution
- mchinjajithe person who carries out the execution
- mnyongajithe person who carries out the execution
Swedish bödel, skarprättare
- bödelthe person who carries out the execution
- skarprättarethe person who carries out the execution
Thai เพชฌฆาต
- เพชฌฆาต (pét-chá-kâat)the person who carries out the execution
Turkish cellat
- cellatthe person who carries out the execution
Ukrainian кат
- кат (kat)the person who carries out the execution
Urdu جلاد
- جلاد (jallād)the person who carries out the execution
Vietnamese người hành hình, đao phủ
- người hành hìnhthe person who carries out the execution
- đao phủthe person who carries out the execution
Welsh dienyddiwr, crogwr
- dienyddiwrthe person who carries out the execution
- crogwrthe person who carries out the execution
Cite this entry
APA
executioner. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/executioner
MLA
“executioner.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/executioner. Accessed November 3, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “executioner,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/executioner.
Source: executioner on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.