as in bruising
to cut (someone's flesh) deeply or roughly
The broken glass lacerated his feet. The patient's hand was severely lacerated.
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as in piercing
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Example Sentences
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Recent Examples of lacerating
Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
His desperate, lacerating Teddy is a character who has ruined his own life, who has martyred himself out of his devotion to The Truth.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Australian playwright Tony McNamara has turned his side hustle as a screenwriter into a blessing for Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, The Favourite), and viewers of The Great, his bawdy historical farce for Hulu, can attest to his love of layered, lacerating insults.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
Irrational violence and lyric visions erupt in lacerating, supremely elegant prose that’s also genuinely funny at times.
—Jon Raymond
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
Adam Bradley Luis Alberto Rodriguez Carlos Nazario, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Verb
Her diaries, two volumes of which have been published, reveal a wonderful writer, lyrical and self-lacerating.
—Anahid Nersessian, New Yorker, 15 Sep. 2025
His desperate, lacerating Teddy is a character who has ruined his own life, who has martyred himself out of his devotion to The Truth.
—Owen Gleiberman, Variety, 28 Aug. 2025
Australian playwright Tony McNamara has turned his side hustle as a screenwriter into a blessing for Yorgos Lanthimos (Poor Things, The Favourite), and viewers of The Great, his bawdy historical farce for Hulu, can attest to his love of layered, lacerating insults.
—David Fear, Rolling Stone, 27 Aug. 2025
Irrational violence and lyric visions erupt in lacerating, supremely elegant prose that’s also genuinely funny at times.
—Jon Raymond
august 5, Literary Hub, 5 Aug. 2025
Adjective
The songs are at times over-the-top, at others lacerating in their introspection about everything from the anxiety of aging to the anguished choice to terminate a pregnancy.
—Adam Bradley Luis Alberto Rodriguez Carlos Nazario, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for lacerating
Adjective
-
My piercing call seemed absorbed by the heavy moisture, trapping even the echo I’d been accustomed to hearing.—
Jim Tschetter,
Outdoor Life,
27 Aug. 2025
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This is a piercing and perceptive psychological thriller.—
Connie Ogle,
Boston Herald,
10 July 2025
Verb
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Williams shot two, police say, wounding one and killing Comeaux.—
Mitchell Willetts,
Fort Worth Star-Telegram,
22 Oct. 2025
-
Gaza accused Israel last week of violating the ceasefire dozens of times, killing over 40 civilians and wounding nearly 150.—
Ross O'Keefe,
The Washington Examiner,
21 Oct. 2025
Adjective
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The morning light casts jagged shadows across the pink stone, catching the saguaro spines and illuminating them like desert saints.—
Rowan Jacobsen,
Harpers Magazine,
24 Oct. 2025
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According to one tale, the devil escaped from hell and formed the jagged peaks in one day’s work.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
22 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Lacerating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lacerating. Accessed 27 Oct. 2025.
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