scarify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to make scratches or superficial incisions in (the skin), to produce an immune response or administer certain injections.
The smallpox vaccine, which was administered by scarifying the skin, left a telltale scar on the upper arm.
During the therapeutic procedure of wet cupping, the practitioner scarifies the skin after suction.
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to scratch, etch, cut, or burn designs or images into the skin in order to create permanent decorative or symbolic scars.
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to lacerate by severe criticism.
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to loosen (the soil) with a type of cultivator.
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to hasten the sprouting of (hard-covered seeds) by making incisions in the seed coats.
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to break up (a road surface).
verb
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surgery to make tiny punctures or superficial incisions in (the skin or other tissue), as for inoculating
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agriculture
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to break up and loosen (soil) to a shallow depth
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to scratch or abrade the outer surface of (seeds) to increase water absorption or hasten germination
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to wound with harsh criticism
verb
Usage
Scarify is sometimes wrongly thought to mean the same as scare: a frightening (not scarifying ) film
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of scarify
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English scarifien, from Middle French scarifier, scarefier, from Late Latin scarīficāre, alteration of Latin scarīfāre, scarīphāre “to make scratches, scrach,” from Greek skarīphâsthai “to sketch,” derivative of skárīphos “stylus”; see also -ify
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The seed packets instruct you to scarify the seeds and presoak them before planting.
From Seattle Times • Jun. 23, 2023
Even on a good day, Pugs- ley is a restive child. scarify.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Primarily, to scarify is to cut or scratch marks into the surface of something.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
A memory tip: If you scarify something, you leave scars.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Ricky promised that his Rollerblades wouldn’t scarify the floor. unique.
From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
