What Does DEICIDE Mean? It Isn’t DEICE or DECIDE
Yes. DEICIDE is a real noun. Merriam-Webster defines it as the act of killing a divine being or a symbolic substitute of one; it can also refer to the killer or destroyer of a god. It is not a misspelling of DEICE or DECIDE.
Published
DEICIDE, DEICE and DECIDE all appear in the accepted answers for the September 25, 2026 Spelling Bee.
Why now?
DEICIDE, DEICE and DECIDE all appear in the September 25 Spelling Bee accepted-answer list.
How do you pronounce DEICIDE?
Merriam-Webster lists two pronunciations, corresponding roughly to DEE-uh-side and DAY-uh-side.
Its pronunciation does not simply copy the sound of DECIDE.
DEICIDE vs. DEICE vs. DECIDE
| Word | Spelling | Part of speech | Meaning |
|---|---|---|---|
| DEICIDE | D-E-I-C-I-D-E | noun | the killing of a divine being; also a killer or destroyer of a god |
| DEICE | D-E-I-C-E | verb | to remove ice |
| DECIDE | D-E-C-I-D-E | verb | to make a choice or reach a decision |
DEICIDE contains an extra I compared with DECIDE, but the words are not variants and do not share the same meaning.
DEICIDE is also not a tense of DEICE. DEICED is the ordinary past-tense form of DEICE.
Why do all three count in this Spelling Bee?
The September 25 hive has C as the required center letter and A, D, E, I, N and V as the other available letters. DEICIDE, DEICE and DECIDE all use only those letters, include C, and appear in the accepted answer list.
Letter fit alone does not prove that any dictionary word will be accepted. The relevant fact is that these three are actually present in this puzzle’s accepted list.
Is DEICIDE a new word?
No. Merriam-Webster records use of deicide dating to the sixteenth century. It has also appeared in earlier Spelling Bee puzzles, so this page does not describe it as a newly created word or a first-time Bee answer.
Evidence
Sources
- New York Times — Spelling Bee
- Merriam-Webster — Deicide