scarifying
scarifying Lexical Profile
scarifying Game Scores & Validity
• adjective
Severely critical, harsh, or wounding to the feelings.
"The playwright was deeply discouraged after reading the critic's scarifying review of the opening night performance."
Extremely frightening, alarming, or distressing.
"Driving along the narrow mountain pass during a blizzard was a truly scarifying experience."
Serving to scratch, score, or break up a surface, such as soil, pavement, or seed coats.
"The groundskeeper attached a scarifying rake to the tractor to remove dense thatch from the turf."
• noun
The act or process of making shallow incisions in the skin, breaking up the surface of soil or pavement, or nicking the hard coat of a seed to aid germination.
"Autumn is the ideal season for lawn scarifying, as it clears away moss and dead grass before winter."
• verb
To make shallow incisions, scratches, or cuts in a surface, such as skin, soil, rock, or the outer coat of a seed (present participle of scarify).
"The botanist is scarifying the hard lupine seeds with sandpaper so they will absorb water and germinate more quickly."
To criticize severely or wound the feelings of someone; or, informally, to frighten or terrify (present participle of scarify).
"The investigative journalist spent the entire chapter scarifying the corrupt officials for their negligence."
Word Nuance & Usage
"Scarifying" has two distinct origins that converge in spelling: the formal sense of making shallow cuts or breaking up soil/seed coats, and an informal blend of "scare" and "terrify" meaning frightening or scathing.
• Rhymes for scarifying
Word Origin & Etymology
Derived from the verb scarify, which comes from Late Latin scarificare and Ancient Greek skariphasthai ('to scratch an outline'); the informal sense meaning 'frightening' arose in the 18th century via association with 'scare'.