cauterized

verb

past tense of cauterize
as in reduced
to reduce or weaken in strength or feeling time had cauterized his bitterness, and he was willing to let bygones be bygones

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Recent Examples of Synonyms for cauterized
  1. reduced
  2. blunted
  3. dulled
  4. diminished
  5. weakened
  6. numbed
  7. subsided
  8. deadened
Verb
  • But a 2021 law reduced his probationary term, and it was formally ended in November 2021.
    — Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 8 July 2026
  • The redesign reduced both size and weight while increasing transmit power, giving military units greater flexibility during deployments.
    — Aamir Khollam, Interesting Engineering, 7 July 2026
Definition of reduced
Verb
  • Decades of declining violent crime have further blunted the public appetite for executions.
    — Pamela Colloff, ProPublica, 30 June 2026
  • The White House’s Iran negotiations rely on the dollar’s leverage, but Tehran has blunted that weapon by using alternative financial architecture, The Wall Street Journal reported, including payments in yuan or cryptocurrency, and adopting a Chinese alternative to the Swift banking network.
    — Tom Chivers, semafor.com, 24 June 2026
Definition of blunted
Verb
  • Ampere’s research appeared to suggest that the influx of romance book adaptations and romance drama in general has dulled the appetite for reality shows about love.
    — Max Goldbart, Deadline, 29 June 2026
  • Bitch, despite being created with Reed in tandem with My Face Hurts From Smiling, leans more pop and R&B with lyrics that may have been dulled down for palatability.
    — Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 23 June 2026
Definition of dulled
Verb
  • The union said that unresolved complaints made against Hawk and existing climate issues have significantly diminished confidence among many educators.
    — Stephen Underwood, Hartford Courant, 6 July 2026
  • Mason, 22, is now hailed as a rising superstar, while Bell's championship aspirations may have diminished.
    — Brian Mazique, Forbes.com, 5 July 2026
Definition of diminished
Verb
  • All three, the panel noted, have weakened or dropped earlier pledges to halt development on their own if certain red lines came into view, and in recent years softened their resistance to military uses.
    — Harry Booth, Time, 7 July 2026
  • It is weakened by surprises, side channels, performative challenge and unclear authority.
    — David Ribott, Forbes.com, 7 July 2026
Definition of weakened
Verb
  • After ensuring the donor area is properly numbed, the medical team will remove individual hair grafts one by one with tiny punches.
    — Ethan Stone, USA Today, 20 Feb. 2026
  • At the urgent care unit, the area was numbed and a small incision was made.
    — Lucy Notarantonio, MSNBC Newsweek, 24 Sep. 2025
Definition of numbed
Verb
  • But gradually, the headaches subsided, the collarbone healed, and doctors cleared him to resume normal activities — including getting back on the bike.
    — Théoden Janes, Charlotte Observer, 7 July 2026
  • The intifada subsided in 2005, and Eisenkot was moved to operational planning for the IDF.
    — Britannica Editors, Encyclopedia Britannica, 7 July 2026
Definition of subsided
Verb
  • Exposing the dental pulp and cleaning out the cavity’s contents also would have deadened the nerves and blood vessels there, leading to pain relief, Zubova said.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 13 May 2026
  • Merrill had the same impulse—the need to become a self not necessarily free of all that money could buy but not crippled or deadened by it, either.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 3 Mar. 2026
Definition of deadened
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Browse Nearby Words

cauterize
cauterized
cauterizes
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Cauterized.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cauterized. Accessed 9 Jul. 2026.

Copy Citation

More from Merriam-Webster on cauterized

Nglish: Translation of cauterized for Spanish Speakers

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of tacit

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

'A' or 'an'? What about before 'h'? An Indefinite Article Guide

Why is '-ed' sometimes pronounced at the end of a word?

Commonly Misspelled Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List

One-Word Oxymorons: Bittersweet, Spendthrift, and More

Ten Words Ending with a Silent ‘T’

The Words of the Week - Jul 10
See More

Popular

See More

Is that lie 'bald-faced' or 'bold-faced'?

14 Phobias You Probably Haven't Heard Of

The Longest Long Words List
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
hangman letters and game
Hangman Lightning Round Figure out which word fits in the blanks.
See All