1. to burn or sear tissue with a hot instrument or chemical substance, typically to stop bleeding or remove diseased tissue
Usage: medical/surgical context; British spelling; American spelling is 'cauterize'
2. to make insensitive or unfeeling; to harden emotionally
Usage: figurative use

Examples

• The surgeon used a laser to cauterise the bleeding wound.
• The doctor decided to cauterise the lesion to prevent infection.
• Years of hardship had cauterised his heart to suffering.
• Repeated rejection can cauterise a person's ability to trust others.
• The procedure to cauterise the blood vessel took only a few minutes.