adjective
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of, relating to, involving, or used in surgery
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(of an action) performed with extreme precision
a surgical air attack on the missile complex
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of surgical
Explanation
Things that are surgical have something to do with an operation performed by a surgeon, or something done with the level of precision a surgeon exercises. So, you could wear surgical scrubs or conduct a surgical strike. A surgical resident is a doctor who's learning to specialize in performing surgery, and the surgical wing of a hospital is the area where surgery is performed. Because what a surgeon does requires such precision and care, the adjective is also used to describe anything done carefully: "Surgical bombing is supposed to be much more precise, with narrow military targets."
Vocabulary lists containing surgical
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
NPH is one of the few causes of dementia that can be controlled or reversed with surgical treatment, usually involving the placement of a shunt.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 16, 2026
It does not require an open surgical incision or replacement of the knee.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 14, 2026
"But if we catch it early, it becomes 80 to 98%, especially after surgical removal."
From Barron's ● Oct. 14, 2026
Very much like an election, in other words, only one populated with women who were scalpel-sculpted, lifted, tanned and tucked to surgical specifications.
From Salon ● Oct. 1, 2026
Reviewers praised the “cool, surgical, irrefutable analyses of two of the world’s leading cryptologists.”
From "The Woman All Spies Fear" by Amy Butler Greenfield
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
