cauterize

[kaw-tuh-rahyz]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR cauterize ON THESAURUS.COM

verb (used with object), cau·ter·ized, cau·ter·iz·ing.

to burn with a hot iron, electric current, fire, or a caustic, especially for curative purposes; treat with a cautery.

RELATED WORDS

sear, burn, singe

Nearby words

Also especially British, cau·ter·ise.

Origin of cauterize

1350–1400; Middle English < Late Latin cautērizāre to brand, equivalent to cautēr- (< Greek kautḗr branding iron, equivalent to kau-, variant stem of kaíein to burn (cf. caustic), + -tēr agent suffix) + -izāre -ize

Related formscau·ter·i·za·tion, nounun·cau·ter·ized, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for cauterize

Destroy the remnants of Government and cauterize the wound so that it will never re-infect again.
The Syndic|C.M. Kornbluth
Gerard coloured a little and told him the learned doctor was going to flebotomize him and cauterize him; that was all.
The Cloister and the Hearth|Charles Reade
When I do cauterize, I prefer a mixture of equal parts of carbolic acid and glycerine or the undiluted acid.
A System of Practical Medicine by American Authors, Vol. I|Various
Well, I offered to cauterize it with the poker in the office stove.
Annajanska, the Bolshevik Empress|George Bernard Shaw

In this dangerous Indian climate, where everything grows putrid, they are frequently constrained to cauterize the sores.
The Bird|Jules Michelet

British Dictionary definitions for cauterize

cauterize

cauterise

verb

(tr) (esp in the treatment of a wound) to burn or sear (body tissue) with a hot iron or caustic agent

Derived Formscauterization or cauterisation, noun

Word Origin for cauterize

C14: from Old French cauteriser, from Late Latin cautērizāre, from cautērium branding iron, from Greek kautērion, from kaiein to burn

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for cauterize

cauterize

c.1400, from Old French cauterisier, from Late Latin cauterizare "to burn or brand with a hot iron," from Greek kauteriazein, from kauter "burning or branding iron," from kaiein "to burn" (see caustic). Related: Cauterized; cauterizing.

Medicine definitions for cauterize

cauterize

[kô′tə-rīz′]

v.

To burn or sear with a cautery.

Related formscau′ter•i•za′tion (-tər-ĭ-zā′shən) n.

Science definitions for cauterize

cauterize

[kô′tə-rīz′]

To burn or sear with a cautery, as in surgical procedures.