What does "lapidation" mean?

The practice or act of stoning, sometimes to the point of death, as punishment

What is a synonym for "lapidation"?

Common synonyms include: ax, bane, blood, bloodletting, bloodshed, burning.

Pronounced //ˌlæpɪˈdeɪʃən//.

//ˌlæpɪˈdeɪʃən// noun

noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Noun

1
The practice or act of stoning, sometimes to the point of death, as punishment countable, uncountable
"The five women on trial were almost all activists for the full repeal (not just a moratorium) of lapidation, ie stoning, from Iran’s law books."
2
the act of pelting with stones; punishment inflicted by throwing stones at the victim (even unto death) wordnet

"The five women on trial were almost all activists for the full repeal (not just a moratorium) of lapidation, ie stoning, from Iran’s law books."

Learned borrowing from Latin lapidātiō.

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