decerebrate

American  

[dee-ser-uh-breyt, dee-ser-uh-breyt, -brit] / diˈsɛr əˌbreɪt, diˈsɛr əˌbreɪt, -brɪt /

verb (used with object)

decerebrated, decerebrating

1. Surgery. to remove the cerebrum.

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noun

1. a decerebrated animal.

2. a person who, because of brain injury, exhibits behavior characteristic of a decerebrated animal.

decerebrate British  

verb

1. (tr) to remove the brain or a large section of the brain or to cut the spinal cord at the level of the brain stem of (a person or animal)

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noun

1. a decerebrated individual

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• decerebration
  noun

Etymology

Origin of decerebrate

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + cerebr- + -ate ¹