English▸ verb [with object] tear or make a ragged cut in (flesh or skin):
the point had lacerated his neck.
▪ criticize forcefully or severely:
her true venom seems reserved for the media itself as she lacerates our obsession with celebrity.
– ORIGIN late Middle English: from Latin lacerat- ‘mangled’, from the verb lacerare, from lacer ‘mangled, torn’.