scarification
Americannoun
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The act or result of making scratches or superficial incisions in the skin to produce an immune response or administer certain injections.
Scarification is a common method of sensitizing the skin for contact with an allergen.
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an act or instance of scratching, cutting, or burning a design or image into the skin, in order to create permanent decorative or symbolic scars; scarifying.
Because it’s riskier than tattooing and piercing, not all body mod shops offer scarification.
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a design or image made by scars as the result of scratching, cutting, or burning it into the skin.
A king was required to have the traditional facial scarification particular to his clan.
Etymology
Origin of scarification
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English scarificacioun, from Old French scarificacion and Late Latin scarīficātiōn- (stem of scarīficātiō ); see scarify, -ation
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Densely dotted patterns, reminiscent of Australian Aboriginal art, refer to scarification, the traditional African practice of cutting permanent adornments into human skin.
From Washington Post • Dec. 2, 2022
They were dressed in Ethiopian uniforms, she said, but spoke with an Eritrean accent and had traditional facial scarification typical of the neighbouring country.
From Reuters • Apr. 15, 2021
A gallery handout also connects the dots to Australian aboriginal art and African scarification patterns.
From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 30, 2018
He tells me the scarification symbolises the purging of their mothers' blood and the gaining of their own adult blood - in a somewhat excruciating metaphorical severing of the apron strings.
From BBC • Aug. 25, 2018
The bdellometer consisted of a glass bell with two protruding tubes, one perpendicular for performing scarification, and the other oblique, for attaching the aspirating pump.
From Bloodletting Instruments in the National Museum of History and Technology by Appel, Toby
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
