as in piercing
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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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Recent Examples of lacerating
Seth Abramovitch, HollywoodReporter, 30 Dec. 2025
Yet this stark, lacerating comedy-drama, set in a seaside Long Island that recalls Woody Allen’s Interiors, is admirable in its uncompromising look at the havoc a long-term sibling rivalry can create for everyone within the blast radius.
—Scott Tobias, Vulture, 5 Dec. 2025
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
Adam Bradley Luis Alberto Rodriguez Carlos Nazario, New York Times, 9 Oct. 2025
Adjective
In the film, director Marina Zenovich reminds Chase of the joke that offended Sweeney, best remembered for his lacerating impression of then-first lady Nancy Reagan.
—Verb
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.
—Recent Examples of Synonyms for lacerating
Adjective
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Tyler, the Creator’s Don’t Tap the Glass, ironically, is the least piercing and the most hedonistic, by design.—
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Streisand covered the emotionally piercing song the following year, and clever DJs around the country began splicing the two solo versions together.—
Adjective
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The site was chosen for its abundant sunshine, spring water, mountain air, and views of the jagged Odle massif, which is framed by picture windows in all 62 minimalist suites.—
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Police shot and killed a patient armed with the jagged shard of a broken toilet seat inside Methodist Hospital in Brooklyn on Thursday, law enforcement sources told the Daily News.—
Verb
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The suspect, charged with murder and other crimes, allegedly shot at four people in separate vehicles in Prince George’s County, killing one and wounding two.—
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Faceworld members opened fire, killing Jordan and wounding another woman.—
Cite this Entry
“Lacerating.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/lacerating. Accessed 13 Jan. 2026.
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