Synonyms for execute

38 synonyms
1 antonym
2 meanings

verb

Most common

carry through perform implement accomplish launch invoke enforce administer

Synonyms by meaning

Verb

1. Perform

do, perform, accomplish, implement, carry through, play, commit, fulfill US, fulfil UK, make, kill, act, achieve, work out, effectuate, complete, pull, dispatch, despatch UK, action, finish, realize, realise UK, perpetrate, practice US, practise UK

2. Invoke — to start, launch, or run

run, invoke, start, launch, open

Other

put to death, enforce, administer, behead, promulgate, hang, dispense, sign, guillotine, electrocute, seal

Antonyms

end

All antonyms of execute →

Definitions

v. 1
To start, launch, or run.
v. 2
To kill, especially as punishment for a capital crime.
According to international treaties, it is illegal to execute prisoners of war.

Related words

Word family: executable execution executive executor executrix executry

Forms

Past participle: executed
e.g. executed → performed, accomplished, implemented, played…

Choose the right word

Execute, Realize, Effect, Consummate, Done or Accomplish?

Realize, effect, execute, and consummate all signify to embody in fact what was before in thought. Effect includes all that is done to accomplish the intent; execute refers rather to the final steps; consummate is limited quite sharply to the concluding act.

J. C. Fernald, English Synonyms and Antonyms (1914)

Example sentences

perform Tom had to perform 100 hours of community service.
implement That tractor implement makes burrows in the field.
accomplish Truly, I still think this will accomplish nothing.
launch The rocket landed successfully on the launch pad.
invoke How do we invoke a response from the computer?

Popularity over time

Word	1850 → 2019	Trend
execute		rising
perform		steady
implement		rising
accomplish		steady
launch		rising

Use in printed books, per decade from 1850 to 2019.

By length

2 letters: do¹
3 letters: run¹, act¹
4 letters: make¹, play¹, open², kill¹, sign¹, pull¹, hang¹, seal¹
5 letters: start¹
6 letters: action², finish², launch¹, commit², fulfil², invoke², behead²
7 letters: realize³, perform², achieve², realise³, enforce², fulfill²
8 letters: complete², practice², dispatch², practise², dispense², despatch
9 letters: implement³
10 letters: accomplish³, administer⁴, guillotine³, perpetrate³, promulgate³, effectuate⁴
11 letters: electrocute⁴

The small number after each word is its number of syllables (open² = 2 syllables).