lacerate

[las-uh-reyt, las-uh-reyt, -er-it]

verb (used with object)

lacerated, lacerating 

1. to tear roughly; mangle.

   The barbed wire lacerated his hands.

   Synonyms: rend

2. to distress or torture mentally or emotionally; wound deeply; pain greatly.

   His bitter criticism lacerated my heart.

adjective

1. lacerated.

lacerate

verb

1. to tear (the flesh, etc) jaggedly

2. to hurt or harrow (the feelings, etc)

adjective

1. having edges that are jagged or torn; lacerated

   lacerate leaves

Other Word Forms

• lacerable adjective
• lacerability noun
• lacerative adjective
• self-lacerating adjective
• unlacerating adjective
• laceration noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of lacerate¹

1535–45; from Latin lacerātus, past participle of lacerāre “to tear up” (derivative of lacer “mangled”); -ate ¹

Word History and Origins

Origin of lacerate¹

C16: from Latin lacerāre to tear, from lacer mangled

Synonym Study

See maim.

Example Sentences

A law enforcement official previously told The Times the boy suffered “massive injuries,” including a broken jaw, fractured ribs and a lacerated liver.

From Los Angeles Times

"I broke my toe, five ribs, I lacerated my spleen, and I've got a big hole in the back of my leg that got badly infected," she said.

From BBC

He left the room, returning with a metronome whose loud, mechanical clicking lacerated the otherwise-fine mood being created by a Bach record on the turntable.

From Salon

Despite those assurances, she and her agency have been the subject of lacerating critiques from Carter, the federal judge.

From Los Angeles Times

One of the most lacerating fictional critiques of the American dream remains the song “Remember My Forgotten Man” and its accompanying set piece in Busby Berkeley’s “Gold Diggers of 1933.”

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• mangle