lacerate
lac·er·ate/ˈlæ.sɚ.ɛɪt/verb, adjective
lacerate is spelled L-A-C-E-R-A-T-E: 8 letters and 3 syllables (lac·er·ate). It appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a verb, lacerate means “To tear, rip or wound” (English Wiktionary, September 2026).
How many letters and syllables are in lacerate?
| Letters | 8: L-A-C-E-R-A-T-E |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 3: lac·er·ate |
| In writing | about once in every 19 million words; the 133,440th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is lacerate?
Lacerate appears about once in every 19 million words in written English, the 133,440th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce lacerate?
- /ˈlæ.sɚ.ɛɪt/
As an adjective (“Mangled, torn, lacerated”): /ˈlæ.sɚ.ət/.
Lacerate has 3 syllables, split lac·er·ate in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lacerate.wav, LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-lacerate2.wav, En-us-lacerate.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of lacerate
- lacerates present, singular, he/she/it
- lacerating participle, present
- lacerated participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does lacerate mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
verb
- 1
To tear, rip or wound.
- 2
To defeat thoroughly; to thrash.
adjective
- 1
obsoleteMangled, torn, lacerated.
- 2
Jagged, as if torn or lacerated.
The bract at the base is dry and papery, often lacerate near its apex.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Lacerate in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
In the sense To tear, rip or wound:
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does lacerate come from?
The verb is first attested in 1425, the adjective in 1514; inherited from Middle English laceraten, borrowed from Latin lacerātus, perfect passive participle of lacerō, see -ate (verb-forming suffix) and -ate (adjective-forming suffix).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).