lacerate
1 of 2verb
lac·er·ate ˈla-sə-ˌrāt 
lacerated; lacerating
transitive verb
1
: to tear or rend roughly : wound jaggedly
2
: to cause sharp mental or emotional pain to : distress
lacerative
ˈla-sə-ˌrā-tiv
adjective lacerate
2 of 2adjective
lac·er·ate ˈla-sə-rət
-ˌrāt
variants or lacerated
ˈla-sə-ˌrā-təd
1
a
: torn jaggedly : mangled
b
: extremely harrowed or distracted
2
: having the edges deeply and irregularly cut
a lacerate petal
Example Sentences
Verb The broken glass lacerated his feet. The patient's hand was severely lacerated.
Recent Examples on the Web
Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2021 The next month, its City Council narrowly rejected a proposal to lacerate the police budget. Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2020 Many view the fervor to transform the police as a logical extension of Black Lives Matter, and activists are ramping up pressure to lacerate police budgets further, or disband departments altogether. Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, 1 July 2020 Rolley suffered a concussion, ruptured blood vessel in his eye, lacerated scalp, and trauma to the head, back, arm, elbow and leg, according to the lawsuit. Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, 29 Apr. 2020 Monday night’s showcase got its auspicious start with Capaldi, a Scottish troubadour in the mode of Ed Sheeran, only with a firmer voice and more self-lacerating stage banter. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2019 The bickering siblings alternate between genuine concern for their failing parents and monstrous selfishness — loving, lacerating interactions with the ring of truth. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2019 As slender and sharp as a paring knife in his dark navy clothing, Mr. Hiddleston’s lacerating Robert seems to live in a state of existential mourning. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2019 Within minutes, Gorsuch lay dead on the ground, his body riddled with bullets and lacerated by corn knives. James Delle, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Jan. 2020 Paul Schwartzman And Josh Dawsey, chicagotribune.com, 9 July 2018 Reared in New York’s indelicate political culture, Trump does not like to appear meek, using rallies and his Twitter account to lacerate rivals. Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 9 July 2018 Reared in New York's indelicate political culture, Trump does not like to appear meek, using rallies and his Twitter account to lacerate rivals. Author: Paul Schwartzman, Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, 9 July 2018 See More
Verb
The movie is laced with fragments of memory — unresolved guilt trips, really, still sharp enough to lacerate the fingertips when handled — which begin when Leda notices Nina. Peter Debruge, Variety, 3 Sep. 2021 The next month, its City Council narrowly rejected a proposal to lacerate the police budget. Rachel Swan, San Francisco Chronicle, 1 Nov. 2020 Many view the fervor to transform the police as a logical extension of Black Lives Matter, and activists are ramping up pressure to lacerate police budgets further, or disband departments altogether. Rachel Swan, SFChronicle.com, 1 July 2020 Rolley suffered a concussion, ruptured blood vessel in his eye, lacerated scalp, and trauma to the head, back, arm, elbow and leg, according to the lawsuit. Ashley Remkus | Aremkus@al.com, al, 29 Apr. 2020 Monday night’s showcase got its auspicious start with Capaldi, a Scottish troubadour in the mode of Ed Sheeran, only with a firmer voice and more self-lacerating stage banter. Chris Richards, Washington Post, 17 Dec. 2019 The bickering siblings alternate between genuine concern for their failing parents and monstrous selfishness — loving, lacerating interactions with the ring of truth. Los Angeles Times, 27 Sep. 2019 As slender and sharp as a paring knife in his dark navy clothing, Mr. Hiddleston’s lacerating Robert seems to live in a state of existential mourning. Ben Brantley, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2019 Within minutes, Gorsuch lay dead on the ground, his body riddled with bullets and lacerated by corn knives. James Delle, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 Jan. 2020 Adjective
Reared in New York's indelicate political culture, Trump does not like to appear meek, using rallies and his Twitter account to lacerate rivals. Paul Schwartzman And Josh Dawsey, chicagotribune.com, 9 July 2018 Reared in New York’s indelicate political culture, Trump does not like to appear meek, using rallies and his Twitter account to lacerate rivals. Paul Schwartzman, Washington Post, 9 July 2018 Reared in New York's indelicate political culture, Trump does not like to appear meek, using rallies and his Twitter account to lacerate rivals. Author: Paul Schwartzman, Josh Dawsey, Anchorage Daily News, 9 July 2018 See More Word History
Etymology
Verb
Middle English, from Latin laceratus, past participle of lacerare to tear; akin to Greek lakis tear
First Known Use
Verb
15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1
Adjective
1514, in the meaning defined at sense 1a
Kids Definition
lacerate
verb
lac·er·ate ˈla-sə-ˌrāt
lacerated; lacerating
: to injure by cutting or tearing deeply or roughly
a lacerated knee
Medical Definition
lacerate
transitive verb
lac·er·ate ˈlas-ə-ˌrāt
lacerated; lacerating
: to tear or rend roughly : wound jaggedly
a lacerated spleen
lacerations
noun
as in slits
a long deep cut the fall from the motocross bike left him with several lacerations from the sharp rocks Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
- slits
- tears
- fractures
- injuries
- scratches
- wounds
- gashes
- incisions
- abrasions
- slashes
- rips
- rents
- scrapes
- ruptures
- scores
- snags
- cracks