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decerebrate

[verb dee-ser-uh-breyt; noun dee-ser-uh-breyt, -brit]
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verb (used with object), de·cer·e·brat·ed, de·cer·e·brat·ing.
  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.
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Origin of decerebrate

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + cerebr- + -ate1
Related formsde·cer·e·bra·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for decerebrate

Historical Examples

  • The decerebrate animal's walk may be perfect in its co-ordination.

    Tics and Their Treatment

    Henry Meigne

  • The first reflex is automatic, and so no doubt is the second, since the frog is decerebrate.

British Dictionary definitions for decerebrate

decerebrate

verb (diːˈsɛrɪˌbreɪt)
  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 (diːˈsɛrɪbrɪt)
  1. a decerebrated individual
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Derived Formsdecerebration, noun

Word Origin

C19: from de- + cerebro- + -ate 1
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
decerebrate in Medicine

decerebrate

(dē-sĕr′ə-brāt′, -brĭt)
adj.
  1. Of, relating to, or characteristic of an individual who has suffered a brain injury that results in neurological function comparable to that resulting from decerebration of an animal.
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v.
  1. To eliminate cerebral brain function in an animal by decerebration.
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The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.