lobotomy

[ luh-bot-uh-mee, loh- ]

noun,plural lo·bot·o·mies.Surgery.

the operation of cutting into a lobe, as of the brain or the lung.
prefrontal lobotomy.

Words Nearby lobotomy

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use lobotomy in a sentence

“The owners have basically given us a lobotomy; they have removed our memory,” he says.
How the Newspaper Business Became a ‘F**king Disgrace’ | Lloyd Grove | December 17, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
And there were still more radical procedures, prefrontal lobotomy for instance.
The Sensitive Man | Poul William Anderson

British Dictionary definitions for lobotomy

lobotomy

/ (ləʊˈbɒtəmɪ) /

nounplural -mies

a surgical incision into a lobe of any organ
Also called: prefrontal leucotomy a surgical interruption of one or more nerve tracts in the frontal lobe of the brain: used in the treatment of intractable mental disorders

Origin of lobotomy

C20: from lobe + -tomy

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

Scientific definitions for lobotomy

lobotomy

[ lə-bŏt′ə-mē ]

Surgical incision into the frontal lobe of the brain to sever one or more nerve tracts, a technique formerly used to treat certain psychiatric disorders but now rarely performed.

Cultural definitions for lobotomy

lobotomy

[ (luh-bot-uh-mee, loh-bot-uh-mee) ]

A surgical incision into one or more of the nerve masses in the front of the brain. A lobotomy may be performed for the relief of certain mental disorders, although it has been largely abandoned in favor of less radical treatments.

Notes for lobotomy

Because people who have had a lobotomy often become quite passive after the operation, the term is often used to refer to someone who shows a lack of response or reaction: “She was so tired she just sat there as if she had been lobotomized.”

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