MEANING
To tear flesh or another soft surface, leaving an irregular wound.
Use it for
Ragged injuries; damage from teeth or debris; a wound that reveals forceUse the torn edges to distinguish injury from a surgical cut.
Words that belong together
- lacerate the skin
- badly lacerated hands
- lacerated tissue
On the page
The creature's claws lacerated his shoulder.
Her palms were lacerated where the wire had slipped.
Metal fragments can lacerate tissue without leaving a neat entry wound.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- lacerate / lacerates
- Past tense
- lacerated
- Past participle
- lacerated
- Present participle
- lacerating
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- lacerate / lacerates
- Present continuous
- am/is/are lacerating
- Present perfect
- have/has lacerated
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been lacerating
- Past
- lacerated
- Past continuous
- was/were lacerating
- Past perfect
- had lacerated
- Past perfect continuous
- had been lacerating
- Future
- will lacerate / lacerates
- Future continuous
- will be lacerating
- Future perfect
- will have lacerated
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been lacerating
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. A laceration is a tear, not necessarily a clean incision; sharp or blunt force may cause it. Figurative use can mean deeply distress. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: lacerate, lacerates, lacerated, lacerated, lacerating. Derived/related family (not inflections): laceration (noun).
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