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Definition of "cauterize" [cau•ter•ize]

  • To burn or sear with a cautery. (verb-transitive)
  • To deaden, as to feelings or moral scruples; callous. (verb-transitive)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Use "cauterize" in a sentence
  • "Sources who tracked the investigation tell Newsmax that the main target of the breach was the Obama passport file, and that the contractor accessed the file in order to "cauterize" the records of potentially embarrassing information."
  • ""Sources who tracked the investigation tell Newsmax that the main target of the breach was the Obama passport file, and that the contractor accessed the file in order to 'cauterize' the records of potentially embarrassing information."
  • "He was using it to cauterize little capillaries that were sprouting in the inner chest."