as in to clean
to take the internal organs out of ancient Roman prophets would disembowel animals in order to read the future from their entrails

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of disembowel These orcas have been seen disemboweling sharks and extracting their livers, a high-energy organ, with surgical precision. Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025 These orcas have been seen disemboweling sharks and extracting their livers, a high-energy organ, with surgical precision. Melissa Cristina Márquez, Forbes.com, 8 Apr. 2025 If disembowelling a federal agency does somehow lead to higher reading and math scores, the federal workers who would have tracked this progress won’t be around to tell us about it. Jessica Winter, The New Yorker, 21 Mar. 2025 Analyzing the legendary unicorn tapestries hanging at the Met Cloisters in New York (augmented here by a gory new panel that depicts the suddenly fearsome animals disemboweling and impaling their aggressors), Ridley concludes that unicorns aren’t nearly as benevolent as most people think. Peter Debruge, Variety, 9 Mar. 2025 See All Example Sentences for disembowel
Recent Examples of Synonyms for disembowel
Verb
  • When treated as a strategic initiative, data migration becomes an opportunity to clean house, eliminate legacy inefficiencies and set the foundation for better analytics, automation and compliance.
    Shiv Kaushik, Forbes.com, 30 July 2025
  • Todd, 56, began by discussing an inmate who suffered a lung health issue after allegedly being forced to clean asbestos and black mold without a respirator.
    Vanessa Etienne, People.com, 30 July 2025
Verb
  • One of the first things the trust did was remove the plants.
    Raisa Habersham, Miami Herald, 1 Aug. 2025
  • That can also help remove some of the fear around layoffs.
    Winnie Sun, Forbes.com, 1 Aug. 2025
Verb
  • President Donald Trump promises clean water for every American, but his latest budget eviscerates federal funding to replace toxic lead pipes, filter out forever chemicals and keep sewage out of lakes and streams.
    Michael Hawthorne, Chicago Tribune, 6 July 2025
  • Sitting in a room full of pretentious ex-friends and mentally eviscerating them all is a universal human experience.
    Literary Hub July 1, Literary Hub, 1 July 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Disembowel.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/disembowel. Accessed 5 Aug. 2025.

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