necrotize

American  

[nek-ruh-tahyz] / ˈnɛk rəˌtaɪz /

especially British, necrotise

verb (used without object)

necrotized, necrotizing

1. to undergo necrosis.

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verb (used with object)

necrotized, necrotizing

1. to cause necrosis in (a tissue, an organ, etc.).

Etymology

Origin of necrotize

1870–75; necrot(ic) ( def. ) + -ize

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

necrotized necrotizing

Smith’s injury is to the same leg that was surgically repaired in 2018 after he suffered a compound fracture and contracted an infection that necrotized much of the muscle and tissue around his right shin.

From Washington Post ● Dec. 18, 2020

If left untreated by removal of necrotized tissue, bedsores can be fatal if they become infected.

From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013

Tissue in his eyes has necrotized, which Behcet’s wouldn’t have caused.

From Time ● Mar. 20, 2012

The outbreak first emerged in dairy cattle in the Texas Panhandle, where animals developed severe cases of necrotizing mastitis, a painful inflammatory disease that damages tissue in the mammary glands.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 23, 2026

Newborns are at risk for necrotizing enterocolitis, a life-threatening inflammation of the intestine that virtually only affects new babies, according to the National Library of Medicine.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 13, 2025

In preterm infants, delayed clamping leads to improved circulation, less need for blood transfusions and a lower incidence of serious complications, such as necrotizing enterocolitis, or inflammation of the digestive tract.

From New York Times ● Nov. 17, 2023

Doctors amputated his hand and part of his forearm two days later after necrotizing fasciitis set in, a condition popularly known as flesh-eating bacteria.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 4, 2023

Vessels become hyperreactive to epinephrine so that physiologic concentrations suddenly possess necrotizing properties.

From "The Lives of a Cell" by Lewis Thomas