Make Your Point > Archived Issues > LACERATE
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connect this word to others:
Sting, nick, slice, lacerate, harrow, maim, eviscerate.
Could you explain how I ordered the words above? That is, on what continuum of meaning do they appear? And could you define those last three?
make your point with...
"LACERATE"
This word comes from a Latin one meaning "to tear into pieces."
To lacerate something is to cut, tear, or slice it in a deep, rough, irregular way.
And figuratively speaking, to lacerate things or people is to hurt them emotionally, as if you're making deep, rough, irregular slices into them.
Pronunciation:
LASS er ate
(or "LASS uh rate")
Part of speech:
Verb, the transitive kind: "the insult lacerated him," "the rejection lacerated her heart."
Other forms worth knowing:
lacerated, lacerating, laceration(s), lacerator(s), lacerant & lacerative (both meaning "hurtful: causing deep emotional wounds")
How to use it:
Use this harsh word to call attention to the painful, wounding power of certain jokes, comments, descriptions, critiques, judgments, insults, accusations, rejections, etc.
You can say that some person or thing lacerated someone else--or someone else's pride, heart, spirit, feelings, confidence, etc.
Often we turn "lacerate" into "lacerating" and use it as an adjective to talk about lacerating words, especially in the form of lacerating wit, humor, or comedy.
And of course, sometimes we're literal, talking about lacerated fingers, hands, spleens, ankle tendons, etc.
examples:
"The 17th-century play’s lacerating indictment of religious hypocrisy still resonates, given that self-righteous posturing still beckons to the credulous."
— Celia Wren on Molière's Tartuffe, The Washington Post, 30 January 2018
"At times the jagged vocal lines seem lacerated by furiously driven strings; at others, soft winds and strings support sustained notes by the soloists or chorus."
— A. J. Goldmann, The New York Times, 24 June 2018
has this page helped you understand "lacerate"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "lacerate" without saying "slice" or "wound."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "It's an emotionally lacerating (image, scene, song, description, comment, article, book, or movie), one that (shows or reveals something, or has some particular effect)."
Serious example: "It's an emotionally lacerating image, one that shows a vulture approaching a skeletal child."
Sarcastic example: "It's an emotionally lacerating film, one that had me on the edge of my seat, desperate to find out whether the Storm King would subjugate Princess Twilight Sparkle and her various pastel companions."
before you review, play:
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
Our game this month is "Big Bang Thicket."
In each issue, hack your way through the polysyllabic title of an episode of The Big Bang Theory, and use your knowledge of vocabulary to answer the question about what happens in that episode.
From the previous issue:
In "The Hesitation Ramification," when Penny proposes to Leonard and he hesitates, does this end or complicate their relationship?
Answer:
It complicates it. To ramify is to branch outward, or to complicate.
Try this one today:
In "The Indecision Amalgamation," is it one or three characters who experience indecision?
review this word:
1. The opposite of LACERATE is
A. HEAL.
B. SIMPLIFY.
C. SQUEEZE.
2. As a toddler, our little sister _____, the most lacerating _____ she could invent at the time.
A. caught insects and frogs .. activity
B. called the rest of us canoe-heads .. label
C. pretended to be a dog for extended periods of time .. game
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love.
I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
To be a sponsor and include your ad in an issue, please contact me at Liesl@HiloTutor.com.
Disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
Sting, nick, slice, lacerate, harrow, maim, eviscerate.
"LACERATE" This word comes from a Latin one meaning "to tear into pieces."
"The 17th-century play’s lacerating indictment of religious hypocrisy still resonates, given that self-righteous posturing still beckons to the credulous."
Explain the meaning of "lacerate" without saying "slice" or "wound."
Fill in the blanks: "It's an emotionally lacerating (image, scene, song, description, comment, article, book, or movie), one that (shows or reveals something, or has some particular effect)."
Spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—let your working memory empty out first.
1. The opposite of LACERATE is
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