as in to reduce
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling
time had cauterized his bitterness, and he was willing to let bygones be bygones
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Recent Examples of cauterize
For patients deemed female, excess flesh could be cut away, and for patients deemed male, the vulva could be cauterized to close it.
—
Sarah Barringer, The Conversation, 18 Feb. 2025
This brought to mind a discovery made by Ambroise Paré.
Paré, who lived from 1510 to 1590, worked on the battlefields of France, and was taught to cauterize gunshot wounds with boiling oil.
—The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
All of his attempts to cut away his past, to cauterize himself and separate himself from it, would fail.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2024
Two arms tipped with multiple tools can perforate gastric ulcers, cauterize and suture wounds, or perform emergency appendectomies.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Apr. 2014
See All Example Sentences for cauterize
Sarah Barringer, The Conversation, 18 Feb. 2025
This brought to mind a discovery made by Ambroise Paré.
Paré, who lived from 1510 to 1590, worked on the battlefields of France, and was taught to cauterize gunshot wounds with boiling oil.
—The New Yorker, 13 Jan. 2025
All of his attempts to cut away his past, to cauterize himself and separate himself from it, would fail.
—Brian Davids, The Hollywood Reporter, 30 Nov. 2024
Two arms tipped with multiple tools can perforate gastric ulcers, cauterize and suture wounds, or perform emergency appendectomies.
—IEEE Spectrum, 2 Apr. 2014
See All Example Sentences for cauterize
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cauterize
Verb
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October has seen 93 blank sailings, up from 58 in September, according to data from maritime research firm Drewry, with container capacity reduced by roughly 7 percent month over month.—
Glenn Taylor,
Sourcing Journal,
29 Oct. 2025
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By cutting the cost and complexity of closings, the company hopes to expand access to homeownership, reduce fraud, and help smaller regional title firms compete with national giants.—
Nia Bowers,
USA Today,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Officials across the nation are scrambling to blunt the first lapse food assistance since the program was created.—
Phillip M. Bailey,
USA Today,
31 Oct. 2025
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Both outcomes might also blunt the risk of further great-power escalation in this deeply chaotic geopolitical time.—
Mira Rapp-Hooper,
Foreign Affairs,
29 Oct. 2025
Verb
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Rather than slash and swing away after spotting the play, Stott tried to get the ball down and deaden it, increasing the level of difficulty.—
Fabian Ardaya,
New York Times,
7 Oct. 2025
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Now, Sora 2 might just be another online fad, a reality-deadening distraction that people will soon tire of.—
Brian Stelter,
CNN Money,
3 Oct. 2025
Verb
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None of that dulls the original game, nor its portrayal of Alma.—
Will Borger,
Rolling Stone,
31 Oct. 2025
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Warm kitchens speed up staling and fat oxidation, dulling flavors faster.—
Katie Rosenhouse,
Southern Living,
26 Oct. 2025
Verb
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In the end, the power of the Cheney name was greatly diminished in GOP politics.—
Don Gonyea,
NPR,
4 Nov. 2025
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The business community is bracing to wake up Wednesday reminded of their diminishing power in their own backyard.—
Liz Hoffman,
semafor.com,
4 Nov. 2025
Verb
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Because both actors look like lumpish proletarian versions of Ingmar Bergman stars — Alma Pöysti, radiant yet benumbed, plays Ansa like a dish-towel Bibi Andersson, and Jussi Vatanen could be the schlump brother of Max von Sydow (with a dollop of Ryan Gosling).—
Owen Gleiberman,
Variety,
23 May 2023
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What’s destructive, and eventually benumbing, is the kitchen-sink clutter of fantasy, reality, wish-fulfillment and glib enchantment.—
Joe Morgenstern,
WSJ,
24 Jan. 2019
Verb
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At the same time, leaving grass too long over the winter can shade the soil and weaken the grass.—
Mary Marlowe Leverette,
Southern Living,
31 Oct. 2025
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In addition to the GOP leaders, most rank-and-file Senate Republicans also oppose repealing the filibuster that’s been slowly weakened by both parties in recent decades for Executive Branch and judicial nominees.—
Ramsey Touchberry,
The Washington Examiner,
31 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Cauterize.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cauterize. Accessed 6 Nov. 2025.
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