lacerate
verb
lac·er·ate
| \ ˈla-sə-ˌrāt
\
\
lacerated;
lacerating
Definition of lacerate
(Entry 1 of 2)
1
: to tear or rend roughly : wound jaggedly
2
: to cause sharp mental or emotional pain to : distress
lacerate
adjective
lac·er·ate
| \ ˈla-sə-rət
, -ˌrāt\
, -ˌrāt\
variants:
or lacerated \ ˈla-sə-ˌrā-təd
\
\
Definition of lacerate (Entry 2 of 2)
1a
: torn jaggedly : mangled
b
: extremely harrowed or distracted
2
: having the edges deeply and irregularly cut
a lacerate petal
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Other Words from lacerate
Verb
lacerative
\ ˈla-sə-ˌrā-tiv
\
adjective
\
adjective
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
The attacks had fractured his left leg and lacerated his scalp. — Joanna Slater, Washington Post, "At church, on Easter, the Sri Lanka attackers destroyed families. Now survivors must learn to live alone.," 2 July 2019 The Agatha Christie-like ecosystem pairs with lacerating contemporary wit, and alternating past and present scenes makes for a multilayered, modern detective story. — Jen Doll, New York Times, "Secrets, Lies and a Murder (or Three) in the Latest Y.A. Crossover Novels," 9 Mar. 2018 The previous night, Castro, a former housing secretary and San Antonio mayor, lacerated the former three-term congressman from El Paso for refusing his call to decriminalize border crossing of any sort. — Todd J. Gillman, Dallas News, "At Florida detention site for migrant teens, Beto O’Rourke slams Trump, parries Julian Castro’s jabs," 27 June 2019 McCain supporters and the senator's daughter Meghan lacerated McSally for following the president's lead in not mentioning McCain. — Andrew O'reilly, Fox News, "McCain successor speculation mounts, amid partisan divide," 27 Aug. 2018 Gilman was shot in the back; the bullet punctured a lung, lacerated her spleen and a kidney, broke two ribs and lodged 2 millimeters from her spinal cord. — Fox News, "Living with fear: Vegas shooting survivor, wife march on," 27 Sep. 2018 Last November at Kansas City, after a teammate fumbled, Henry tracked the play to the sideline, only to take a hit from behind, lacerating his kidney. — Tom Krasovic, sandiegouniontribune.com, "Chargers would be lucky to bring back Antonio Gates," 24 May 2018 The halting camaraderie that develops among them is a marvel of ensemble acting, with dialogue punctuated by the playwright’s lacerating wit. — James Hebert, sandiegouniontribune.com, "A struggle to cling to identity is at heart of La Jolla Playhouse's quietly moving 'Queens'," 10 July 2018 My face was covered in blood, my nose and arm broken, my back had a wide gash and tire marks with micro fractures, my abdomen bruised and covered in tire marks, and my liver lacerated. — Kristi Turnquist, OregonLive.com, "Woman injured in PSU hit-and-run says 'it's been difficult,' shares charity fundraising goal," 10 June 2018Recent Examples on the Web: 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, "'It's burning people out': Trump aides endure public fury toward president's policies around D.C.," 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, "‘Viciousness’: Trump aides endure public fury toward president’s policies," 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, "'Viciousness': Trump aides endure public fury toward president's policies," 9 July 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'lacerate.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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More Definitions for lacerate
lacerate
verb
English Language Learners Definition of lacerate
: to cut or tear (someone's flesh) deeply or roughly
See the full definition for lacerate in the English Language Learners Dictionary
lacerate
verb
lac·er·ate
| \ ˈla-sə-ˌrāt
\
\
lacerated;
lacerating
Kids Definition of lacerate
: to injure by cutting or tearing deeply or roughly
a lacerated knee
lacerate
transitive verb
lac·er·ate
| \ ˈlas-ə-ˌrāt
\
\
lacerated;
lacerating
Medical Definition of lacerate
: to tear or rend roughly : wound jaggedly
a lacerated spleen
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