Dictionary.com

decerebrate

[ verb dee-ser-uh-breyt; noun dee-ser-uh-breyt, -brit ]
/ verb diˈsɛr əˌbreɪt; noun diˈsɛr əˌbreɪt, -brɪt /
Save This Word!

verb (used with object), de·cer·e·brat·ed, de·cer·e·brat·ing.
Surgery. to remove the cerebrum.
noun
a decerebrated animal.
a person who, because of brain injury, exhibits behavior characteristic of a decerebrated animal.
QUIZ
GOOSES. GEESES. I WANT THIS QUIZ ON PLURAL NOUNS!
Test how much you really know about regular and irregular plural nouns with this quiz.
Question 1 of 9
Which of the following nouns has an irregular plural form?

Origin of decerebrate

First recorded in 1895–1900; de- + cerebr- + -ate1

OTHER WORDS FROM decerebrate

de·cer·e·bra·tion, noun
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use decerebrate in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for decerebrate

decerebrate

verb (diːˈsɛrɪˌbreɪt)
(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)
noun (diːˈsɛrɪbrɪt)
a decerebrated individual

Derived forms of decerebrate

decerebration, noun

Word Origin for decerebrate

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

Medical definitions for decerebrate

decerebrate
[ dē-sĕrə-brāt′, -brĭt ]

adj.
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.
v.
To eliminate cerebral brain function in an animal by decerebration.
The American Heritage® Stedman's Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
FEEDBACK