Meanings
present singular third person cauterizes · participle present cauterizing · participle past cauterized · past cauterized · alternative cauterise
- To burn and hence seal open tissue using a heated article or caustic agent so as to stop bleeding or minimise the risk of infection.
1 more example
[…] Lanfrank takes Notice of Tract. 3. Doct. 3. cap. 18. ſaying, "I have ſeen many who being full of Humours, have made an Iſſue under the Knee, before due Purgation had been premis'd; whence, by reaſon of the too great Defluxion of Humours, the Legs tumified, ſo that the cauterized Place corrupted, and a Cancer (or rather cacoethic Ulcer) was thereby made, with which great Difficulty was cur'd."
1732, George Smith, Institutiones Chirurgicæ: or, Principles of Surgery, … To which is Annexed, a Chirurgical Dispensatory, …, London: Printed [by William Bowyer] for Henry Lintot, at the Cross-Keys against St. Dunstan's Church in Fleetstreet, →OCLC, page 254
Synonyms & antonyms
verbburn, sear, or freeze (tissue) using a hot iron or electric current or a caustic agent
verbmake insensitive or callous; deaden feelings or morals
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Ancient Greekκαυτηριάζω“to brand”
- Late Latincauterizō“to burn with a hot iron”
- Middle Frenchcauteriser
- Englishcauterize
From Middle French cauteriser, from Late Latin cauterizō (“to burn with a hot iron”), from Ancient Greek καυτηριάζω (kautēriázō, “to brand”), from καυτήρ (kautḗr, “branding iron”), from καίω (kaíō, “to burn”).
More words from Middle French, Late Latin, Ancient Greek
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian обгарям
- обгарям (obgarjam)burn tissue
Catalan cauteritzar
- cauteritzarburn tissue
Chinese Mandarin 燒灼 /烧灼, 灼
- 燒灼 /烧灼 (shāozhuó)burn tissue
- 灼 (zhuó)burn tissue
- 灸 (as in moxibustion)burn tissue
Czech kauterizovat, vypálit
- kauterizovatburn tissue
- vypálitburn tissue
Dutch toebranden, dichtbranden
- toebrandenburn tissue
- dichtbrandenburn tissue
- toevriezenburn tissue
- dichtvriezenburn tissue
Finnish polttaa, kauterisoida
- polttaaburn tissue
- kauterisoidaburn tissue
French cautériser
- cautériserburn tissue
German kauterisieren
- kauterisierenburn tissue
Greek καυτηριάζω
- καυτηριάζω (kaftiriázo)burn tissue
Hungarian kiéget, kauterizál
- kiégetburn tissue
- kauterizálburn tissue
Irish loisc, poncloisc
- loiscburn tissue
- poncloiscburn tissue
Japanese 焼灼する
- 焼灼する (shōshaku suru)burn tissue
Norwegian kauterisere
- kauterisereburn tissue
Polish kauteryzować, przyżegać
- kauteryzowaćburn tissue
- przyżegaćburn tissue
Portuguese cauterizar
- cauterizarburn tissue
Russian прижига́ть, приже́чь
- прижига́ть (prižigátʹ)burn tissue
- приже́чь (prižéčʹ)burn tissue
Spanish cauterizar
- cauterizarburn tissue
Swahili pisha
- pishaburn tissue
Swedish kauterisera
- kauteriseraburn tissue
Cite this entry
cauterize. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cauterize
“cauterize.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cauterize. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cauterize,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cauterize.
Source: cauterize on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.