剐
death by a thousand cuts; cut
Meanings
2 senses · 10 examplesverb
death by a thousand cuts (ancient torture)
archaicUsed exclusively to describe the ancient imperial execution method of slow slicing, often used in fixed phrases like 千刀万剐.
This corrupt court official was ultimately sentenced to death by a thousand cuts.
The common people hated the bully so much they wished he would be put to death by a thousand cuts.
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In ancient times, the serious crime of treason was punished by the torture of death by a thousand cuts.
The villain in the novel ended up with the fate of being put to death by a thousand cuts.
Death by a thousand cuts was one of the most cruel punishments in feudal society.
verb
to cut; to scrape; to tear open
Used in daily spoken and written contexts to describe being cut or scraped by a sharp object.
I accidentally cut my hand open on a piece of glass.
A tree branch tore a hole in my coat.
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His arm got a cut from scraping against a wire fence.
Be careful not to cut your fingers on the sharp kitchen knife.
While climbing, his pants got torn in several places by scraping against the rocks.