Source : Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)

Lacerate \Lac"er*ate\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. {Lacerated}; p. pr. &
   vb. n. {Lacerating} (?>).] [L. laceratus, p. p. of lacerare
   to lacerate, fr. lacer mangled, lacerated; cf. Gr. ? a rent,
   rending, ? to tear; perh. akin to E. slay.]
   To tear; to rend; to separate by tearing; to mangle; as, to
   lacerate the flesh. Hence: To afflict; to torture; as, to
   lacerate the heart.