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
  • Climate policies are reducing emissions Since the adoption of the Paris Agreement just over a decade ago, global renewable electricity capacity has grown three times faster than anticipated, while solar PV build-out has increased seven times faster.
    — Simmone Shah, Time, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The filter also makes the page look like a poster left too long in the sun, washing it out and reducing contrast compared to monochrome e-readers.
    — New Atlas, New Atlas, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of reducing
Verb
  • In theory, the clearinghouse would monitor the speed of AI growth without blunting the nation’s competitive advantage.
    — John Caruso, Hartford Courant, 14 Oct. 2026
  • 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
Definition of blunting
Verb
  • Extreme weather events, such as drought or heavy rainfall, also stress trees and can trigger them to rapidly protect themselves by more rapidly pulling in the chlorophyll from their leaves, dulling fall colors.
    — Mary Randolph, Scientific American, 14 Oct. 2026
  • 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
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
  • That global warming is diminishing them might sounds counterintuitive — climate change, after all, is worsening much of the world’s extreme weather.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 15 Oct. 2026
  • Winds will finally begin diminishing Friday evening and overnight.
    — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 15 Oct. 2026
Definition of diminishing
Verb
  • OpenAI disclosed a pair of safety incidents that involved AI agents weakening their safety monitoring systems during internal coding tasks.
    — Emma Roth, The Verge, 21 Oct. 2026
  • Meanwhile, weakening brand loyalty threatens an advantage established manufacturers have relied on for decades.
    — Matthew Tan, CNBC, 21 Oct. 2026
Definition of weakening
Verb
  • This one, steeped in milk and cream, sparks off the roof of your mouth with a gentle chile burn and the pleasantly numbing zap of cloves.
    — Bill Addison, Los Angeles Times, 11 Oct. 2026
  • And like any great sitcom, Friends runs the gamut from numbing brain-rot to tear-jerking sentimentality.
    — Mack DeGeurin, Popular Science, 9 Sep. 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 24 Oct. 2026.

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