electrocution
pronunciation
How to pronounce electrocution in British English:
UK [ɪˌlektrə'kju:ʃn]
How to pronounce electrocution in American English:
US [ɪˌlektrə'kjuʃn]
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- Noun:
- execution by electricity
- killing by electric shock
Word Origin
- electrocution (n.)
- "execution by electricity," 1889, American English; noun of action from electrocute. Meaning "any death by electricity" is from 1897. Electrocution, unless better performed than in the first instance, is a retrograde step rather than the contrary. The preliminary arrangements: the shaving of the head, the cutting of the clothing, the strapping in a chair, add much to the horror of the occasion. It is safe to say that electrocution is not the coming method of execution. ["The Medical Era," vol. vii, no. 9, Sept. 1890]
Example
- 1. When animal advocates protested the proposed method of hanging , edison saw a publicity opportunity and suggested electrocution with ac.
- 2. A few allow hangings and firing squads , and nine let inmates choose electrocution in some cases , but these options are seldom used .
- 3. Methods of execution used in 2010 included beheading , electrocution , hanging , lethal injection and shooting , the group said .
- 4. Thousands of documented confessions found in the prison archives show he was the man who made prisoners talk by using means such as electrocution , waterboarding , merciless beatings and mutilations .
- 5. Even a successful electrocution is macabre . Officials in nebraska had to keep a fire extinguisher ready and an eye out for smoke coming from the prisoner 's head . A smell of burnt flesh was to be expected . People being electrocuted appear to experience pain .