lacerate

1 of 2

verb

lac·er·ate ˈla-sə-ˌrāt

lacerated; lacerating

transitive verb

: to tear or rend roughly : wound jaggedly

: 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

: torn jaggedly : mangled

: extremely harrowed or distracted

: 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

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

These 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.