incise

verb

in-ˈsīz How to pronounce incise (audio)
Definition of incisenext
1
as in to etch
to cut (as letters or designs) on a hard surface incised a pattern into the copper plate

Synonyms & Similar Words

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2
as in to slit
to penetrate with a sharp edge (as a knife) incised the tree with a sharp ax to get the sap flowing

Synonyms & Similar Words

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 incise According to testimony from a preliminary hearing held last year, the victim sustained 27 stab or incise wounds to both the front and back of her head, torso, arms and legs. — City News Service, San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2026 To match its maritime origins, it was incised with designs of cavorting Tritons and surmounted with a silver Neptune riding a hippocampus—a lot of gaudy ornament around a big brown husk. — The Editors, JSTOR Daily, 26 June 2025 Ellen Greenberg, 27, was found in her apartment with nearly two dozen stab and incised wounds and a knife in her chest in January 2011, according to the Philadelphia Medical Examiner's office. — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 13 Oct. 2025 And thus began Gates’s decades-long engagement with Drake’s work, which has included a 2010 exhibition at the Milwaukee Art Museum that included a book of hymns responding to the poems David had incised into several of his vessels. — Maximilíano Durón, ARTnews.com, 20 Apr. 2026 See All Example Sentences for incise
Recent Examples of Synonyms for incise
  1. etch
  2. slit
  3. inscribe
  4. slice
  5. engrave
  6. rip
  7. carve
  8. slash
Verb
  • Oven cleaners are not safe for glass doors and can cause permanent damage like cloudiness or chemical etching.
    — Caroline Lubinsky, Martha Stewart, 4 July 2026
  • All etched into the face of a man who spent his presidency fighting to hold together a nation that seemed determined to tear itself apart.
    — Chris Kenning, USA Today, 2 July 2026
Definition of etch
Verb
  • They’re designed with a sleek flat front, a mid-rise elastic waistband, a slightly loose leg opening, and small side slits for a comfortable, relaxed fit.
    — Alicia Geigel, Southern Living, 4 June 2026
  • Before police took him into custody, Tran slit his wrists, cut his neck and poked the blade into his stomach, but all of the wounds were superficial.
    — Sean Emery, Oc Register, 1 June 2026
Definition of slit
Verb
  • The glass is inscribed—in lead wire, lead foil, oil, varnish, and dust—with diagrammatic imagery evoking machinery.
    — Sebastian Smee, The Atlantic, 29 June 2026
  • Sehgal, who wore a jacket and a quarter zip, took in the monument’s massive granite pylons, inscribed with the names and ranks of the more than four thousand Americans who never returned from the Atlantic during the Second World War.
    — Dan Greene, New Yorker, 29 June 2026
Definition of inscribe
Verb
  • Peel kiwis using a knife, peeler, or spoon, and slice into wedges, rounds, cubes, or decorative halves.
    — Karla Walsh, Better Homes & Gardens, 6 July 2026
  • The thighs just need to be sliced into large pieces (1½-2 inches is the sweet spot) before being threaded onto skewers.
    — Kate Williams, AJC.com, 6 July 2026
Definition of slice
Verb
  • These include an elite Viking Age burial site unearthed near Lisbjerg and engraved 9th century silver bangles, found in Elsted, that functioned as currency whose value was determined by the jewelry’s weight.
    — Leslie Katz, Forbes.com, 29 June 2026
  • The ring now bears both women's wedding dates engraved side by side.
    — Ashley Vega, PEOPLE, 25 June 2026
Definition of engrave
Verb
  • On June 29, workers were seen installing a red carpet on the venue's signature stairs, only to rip it up a short time later.
    — Bryan West, USA Today, 2 July 2026
  • Four people died, including a 12-year-old boy, and several others were injured after at least three tornadoes ripped through that corner of the state.
    — Christina Zhang, CBS News, 1 July 2026
Definition of rip
Verb
  • Our history is one of people carving a great civilization out of the wilderness.
    — Kyla Guilfoil, NBC news, 5 July 2026
  • With the field now set and the Round of 16 beginning Sunday, three of the 16 teams have carved their path through Kansas City.
    — Daniel Sperry, Kansas City Star, 4 July 2026
Definition of carve
Verb
  • The most recent controversy came in January, when the county paid $135,000 to settle a lawsuit that accused Kramer of improperly slashing a property’s value by millions of dollars — then retaliating against the employee who raised alarms about it.
    — Jakob Rodgers, Mercury News, 7 July 2026
  • Last year, the charity Oxfam noted that G7 countries, which collectively account for around 75% of all official development assistance, were set to slash their aid spending by 28% in 2026 compared to 2024 levels.
    — Chloe Taylor, CNBC, 6 July 2026
Definition of slash

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incipiently
incise
incised
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Cite this Entry

“Incise.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/incise. Accessed 8 Jul. 2026.

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Nglish: Translation of incise for Spanish Speakers

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