cauterize
verb
cau·ter·ize
ˈkȯ-tə-ˌrīz 
cauterized; cauterizing
1
: to sear with a cautery or caustic
cauterize a wound
2
: to make insensible : deaden
They will do anything to stay in office; their consciences have been cauterized.
Examples of cauterize in a Sentence
The doctors cauterized the wound.
time had cauterized his bitterness, and he was willing to let bygones be bygones
Recent Examples on the Web
To plug it closed, his surgeon had to cauterize the hole with a red-hot iron.
—
Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
When Amy Adams’ Lois Lane is wounded in the Arctic while working on a story, the ever-ready hero emerges from nowhere, ready to cauterize her wound with his X-ray eyes.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 11 July 2025
The cauterizing device commonly needed for this type of surgery couldn’t be used due to the risk of explosion.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 20 June 2025
For patients deemed female, excess flesh could be cut away, and for patients deemed male, the vulva could be cauterized to close it.
—Sarah Barringer, The Conversation, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cauterize
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Burkhard Bilger, New Yorker, 28 July 2025
When Amy Adams’ Lois Lane is wounded in the Arctic while working on a story, the ever-ready hero emerges from nowhere, ready to cauterize her wound with his X-ray eyes.
—Stephanie Zacharek, Time, 11 July 2025
The cauterizing device commonly needed for this type of surgery couldn’t be used due to the risk of explosion.
—Cara Lynn Shultz, People.com, 20 June 2025
For patients deemed female, excess flesh could be cut away, and for patients deemed male, the vulva could be cauterized to close it.
—Sarah Barringer, The Conversation, 18 Feb. 2025
See All Example Sentences for cauterize
Cite this Entry
“Cauterize.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cauterize. Accessed 31 Oct. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
cauterize
verb
cau·ter·ize
ˈkȯt-ə-ˌrīz
cauterized; cauterizing
: to burn with a hot iron or a chemical substance usually to destroy infected tissue
cauterize a wound
Medical Definition
cauterize
transitive verb
cau·ter·ize
variants
or British cauterise
cauterized or British cauterised; cauterizing or British cauterising
: to sear with a cautery or caustic
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