What does "impalement" mean?

The act of torturing or executing someone by impaling them on a sharp stake.

What is a synonym for "impalement"?

Common synonyms include: achievement, annulet, armory, arms, azure, bandeau.

noun

noun ·Uncommon ·College level

Noun

1
The act of torturing or executing someone by impaling them on a sharp stake. countable, uncountable
2
the act of piercing with a sharpened stake as a form of punishment or torture wordnet
3
The joining of two coats of arms on one shield. countable, uncountable
4
A space fenced in, such as by palings, possibly in the form of an enclosure or cup. countable, uncountable
5
In the sense of an enclosure, the calyx of a flower. (In still older works, also spelt empalement.) countable, obsolete, uncountable
"The parts of fructification are seven in number... The First part is the calyx, impalement, or flower cup."

"The parts of fructification are seven in number... The First part is the calyx, impalement, or flower cup."

From Middle French empalement; equivalent to impale + -ment.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.