incise means to cut in or into with a sharp instrument; to carve; to engrave. It carries an Arena rating of 1682, earned across 38 head-to-head judged battles.
Among words judged in Lexicurio's Arena, incise ranks #1,649 of 17,131 for Scariest Words, #2,040 of 17,142 for Most Ingenious Words, #2,265 of 17,127 for Words That Escaped Their Books, #4,729 of 17,138 for Most Incisive Words.
incise is pronounced /ɪnˈsaɪz/.
Why “incise” is a great word
INCISE — [Verb] To cut into or engrave a surface with a sharp instrument. From Middle French inciser, from Latin incīdere, from in- ("in, into") + caedere ("to cut, strike"). Unlike "carve," which often implies shaping a whole form, or "excise," which means to cut out and remove, "incise" focuses on the precise, penetrating act of marking a plane. It is the surgeon’s scalpel tracing a lifeline on skin; the etcher’s needle whispering a permanent secret into copper; the glacial river patiently scoring its signature into the canyon floor—a testament to how the deepest impressions are made not by addition, but by subtraction.
Etymology
From Middle French inciser.
verb
- To cut in or into with a sharp instrument; to carve; to engrave.e.g.“The executioner’s blade is incised with Christ’s crown of thorns, and with the words of a prayer.” — 2020, Hilary Mantel, The Mirror and the Light, Fourth Estate, page 5:
Definitions & examples from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 3.0).
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