Lapidate

//ˈlæpɪˌdeɪt// verb

verb ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To throw stones or other objects at, as punishment, sometimes until death. transitive

    "the host (in tailcoat, grey cravat, purple vest) is lapidated by his wife while he loudly cries: "Maggie—please save a cup fer coffee in the morning.""

  2. 2
    throw stones at wordnet
  3. 3
    To hurl insults at. figuratively, transitive

    "The hour-long (and far too slow-paced) show: Malice in Wonderland, by lampooning, lapidating S. J. Perelman, veteran of movie-writing stints"

  4. 4
    kill by throwing stones at wordnet

Synonyms

All synonyms
stonestoneabuseblow upbrainbring down

Example

More examples

"the host (in tailcoat, grey cravat, purple vest) is lapidated by his wife while he loudly cries: "Maggie—please save a cup fer coffee in the morning.""

Etymology

First attested in 1623; borrowed from Latin lapidātus, perfect passive participle of lapidō (“to throw stones at”) (see -ate (verb-forming suffix)), from lapis (“stone”).

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