lacerate

1 of 2

verb

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 2

adjective

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

Examples of lacerate in a Sentence

Verb

The broken glass lacerated his feet.

The patient's hand was severely lacerated.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

Down the street, a mule lay panting on its side, its skin lacerated from shrapnel. —Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2024

With lacerating humor and a multitude of similarly revealing moments, Colored Television illuminates the axes around which its novelist protagonist Jane's life teeters. —Carole V. Bell, NPR, 9 Sep. 2024

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, 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

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

ˈlas-ə-ˌrāt

lacerated; lacerating

: to tear roughly : injure by tearing

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