exenteration

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/ɛksɛntəˈɹeɪʃən/

noun

The surgical removal of all the contents of a body cavity such as the pelvis or the orbit.

OriginLatin *exenterātiō →
Scrabble 19
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Meanings

nounexenteration (countable and uncountable, plural exenterations)

plural exenterations

  1. countableuncountablemedicineThe surgical removal of all the contents of a body cavity such as the pelvis or the orbit.
  2. countableobsoleteuncountableThe process or fact of removing the entrails; evisceration.

    How to keep the corps seven dayes from corruption by anointing and washing, without exenteration, were an hazardable peece of art, in our choisest practise.

    1658. Sir Thomas Browne, Urne-Burial, Penguin 2005, p. 27

Synonyms & antonyms

Also see
evisceration

Origin

  1. Latin*exenterātiō
  2. Englishexenteration

From exenterate + -ion, possibly corresponding to a learned borrowing from Latin *exenterātiō, from exenterō (“to disembowel”).

More words from Latin

Full word history & related roots →

Translations

Polish egzenteracja
  • egzenteracjaThe surgical removal of all the contents of a body cavity such as the pelvis or the orbit
Russian экзентерация
  • экзентерация (ekzenteracija)The surgical removal of all the contents of a body cavity such as the pelvis or the orbit
Cite this entry
APA

exenteration. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exenteration

MLA

“exenteration.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exenteration. Accessed November 3, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “exenteration,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/exenteration.

Source: exenteration on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.