cauterizing

verb

present participle of cauterize
as in reducing
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

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Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of cauterizing Jhin says doctors can remove them by shaving, scraping, freezing or cauterizing them. — Helen Carefoot, Flow Space, 18 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for cauterizing
  1. reducing
  2. blunting
  3. dulling
  4. deadening
  5. diminishing
  6. weakening
  7. numbing
Verb
  • The answer may be different if the goal is reducing overall homelessness, helping people into the job market, spending as little taxpayer money as possible, improving health outcomes — or just keeping people alive.
    — Laura Ungar, Los Angeles Times, 30 Sep. 2026
  • Like morphine and fentanyl, cychlorphine locks onto the brain’s mu-opioid receptors, reducing pain and increasing euphoria.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • The law is aimed at blunting financial scams that often target older adults, which frequently include prompting victims to withdraw large sums of money at once.
    — Seth Klamann, Denver Post, 12 Aug. 2026
  • Semaglutide can hook into this system, blunting the usual pleasure from eating high-fat and sugary treats.
    — Jesse Pines, Forbes.com, 4 Aug. 2026
Definition of blunting
Verb
  • Eyesafe technology cuts blue light without dulling the color, which is easier on your eyes during long work days.
    — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 28 Sep. 2026
  • Storing knives loose in a drawer and scrubbing them too zealously creates a fine network of scratches, further dulling the finish.
    — Brandee Gruener, Southern Living, 25 Sep. 2026
Definition of dulling
Verb
  • Inside the cabin, extensive additional sound deadening in the doors, trunk and wheel arches means phone calls and passenger conversations are entirely effortless at highway speeds.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 2 Oct. 2026
  • Each presents a group portrait of a handful of disaffected British suburbanites—husbands who resent their deadening jobs, toddlers who whine and interrupt, and, above all, hassled wives subsumed by a crush of household obligations.
    — Becca Rothfeld, New Yorker, 16 Aug. 2026
Definition of deadening
Verb
  • Between terrorism and global warming and diminishing natural resources, the world is out of balance.
    — Richard Edwards, Space.com, 29 Sep. 2026
  • Basic tasks like summarization, translation and drafting offer diminishing differentiation as tools become widespread.
    — Fabio Caversan, Forbes.com, 28 Sep. 2026
Definition of diminishing
Verb
  • Deterioration is exacerbated if water reaches the steel rebar, corroding from inside the concrete mass and thereby weakening the integrity of the wall.
    — Jeffrey Weiss, Artforum, 1 Oct. 2026
  • Those states’ experiences show that weakening graduation requirements reduces accountability for schools.
    — Neetu Arnold, Washington Post, 30 Sep. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 2026
  • News Channel 5 similarly reported that she was erroneously given potassium in place of numbing medication.
    — Bailey Richards, PEOPLE, 19 Aug. 2026
Definition of numbing

Browse Nearby Words

cauterizes
cauterizing
caution
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Cite this Entry

“Cauterizing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/cauterizing. Accessed 6 Oct. 2026.

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