cauterize

[ kaw-tuh-rahyz ]

/ ˈkɔ təˌraɪz /

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

Nearby words

caustic soda, caustic surface, causticity, causticly, cauterant, cauterize, cautery, caution, caution money, cautionary, cautious

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 forms

cau·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

/ (ˈkɔːtəˌraɪz) /

verb

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

Derived Forms

cauterization 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

Medicine definitions for cauterize

cauterize

[ kô′tə-rīz′ ]

v.

To burn or sear with a cautery.

Related forms

cau′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.